Tesla’s Model Y has taken the top spot in the official March new car sales chart with 8,123 registered, according to figures released today. 

It now ranks as the fourth best seller for the first three months of the year, but it's not all good news for Tesla. Despite the success of the Model Y, the company recorded the fastest volume decrease for the month with a fall of 2,428 cars compared with March 2022. 

Tesla appears to be moving away from its once-a-quarter delivery surge caused when a shipment arrives from its Chinese factory and having a more gradual monthly flow, as there is no longer a waiting list for cars. However, the company's quarterly total is also down 14% on 2022 and there are signs that it is moving away from private sales and pushing cars to fleet buyers. 

Electric vehicle sales in general for March increased more than 18%; the same increase as the total new car market which saw 287,825 23-plate cars hit the road. 

The growth has been driven by improved supply which has meant car makers have been able to satisfy a backlog of demand in the company car market which traditionally takes a higher share of electric cars than private buyers. 

For the first quarter of 2023, electric car sales were up almost 19% rising fractionally ahead of a total market improvement of just more than 18%. Car dealers that Electrifying.com spoke to reported that, while customers are facing increased financial pressures, there are still strong order banks. Several added that delivery times for the most popular electric vehicles are still lengthy, however, overall supply is now far closer to pre-pandemic levels. 

At a manufacturer level, Volkswagen continues to lead the market and was not only up 48.8% in March, but is up more than 55% for the year to date and had the largest volume increase for the quarter. Nissan and MG were the second and third fastest growing brands, respectively, by number of cars.

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Volkswagen sales were up 48.8% for the month