By Eliza Mcphee For Daily Mail Australia
07:25 04 Jun 2024, updated 07:33 04 Jun 2024
A telling photo of new Teslas sitting idle at an Australian port has revealed the challenge facing the industry in Australia.
While Elon Musk‘s EVs were once pre-sold before even entering Australia, an alarming image captured countless rows of the cars sitting idle in Port Melbourne,
Industry experts believe the reason for the apparent boycott of Tesla EVs is bad charging infrastructure along with a highly competitive market, with many Aussies now buying cheaper Chinese-made electric vehicles.
Every month, 2,000 Teslas arrive at Port Melbourne but Peter Anderson of the Victorian Transport Association has warned very few are leaving.
‘All of a sudden we’ve got a huge backlog of Teslas that aren’t moving. They’ve just stopped moving,’ he told Seven News.
‘Teslas usually come into this country pre-sold, these cars aren’t. They’re sitting here waiting for buyers.’
Tesla’s sales were down by two thirds in April this year compared with the same time period last year, according to the NRMA..
Overall EV car sales have dropped by five per cent in April after three consecutive years of substantial growth.
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The situation has become so dire for Tesla that the company was forced to dramatically slash its prices.
A Tesla Model 3 rear-wheel drive was on the market for $61,900 at the end of last year but is now at $54,900.
Similarly, a Tesla Model Y rear-wheel drive cost $65,400 but now has a pricetag of $55,900.
Other EV companies have also been forced to slash prices as drivers turn towards more affordable Chinese models.
In fact, China’s BYD sold more cars globally than Tesla in 2023.
Their cheapest model, the BYD Dolphin, sells for $38,000.
Meanwhile, the European-made 2023 GWM Ora is on the market for $35,990.
It comes after American company ChargePoint shut down its 46 charging stations around NSW, Victoria and Queensland on February 1.
ChargePoint installed its first EV station in Australia in 2010 and expanded across the country’s east coast as popularity of electric cars rose among motorists.
However, in 2020 the brand stopped maintaining its charging ports in Australia, with its network of stations operating via remote support from the US.