The Electric Vehicle Council has released its latest State of Electric Vehicles report, which shows a sharp increase of 65 per cent of EV sales in Australia in 2022, writes Uma Singh.
Electric vehicles now represent 3.39 per cent of all new car sales in Australia, a figure which is rising but still significantly lags behind other countries, especially in Europe, where up to one in five new vehicles sold are EVs.
ACT accounts for the highest EV sales in Australia, with 9.5 per cent of all new vehicles being electric. NSW and Queensland are next on the list, with 3.7 per cent and 3.4 per cent, respectively.
In Australia, consumers have 45 different EVs to choose from on the market compared to UK buyers who can select from 140 battery electric vehicles and 40 plug-in hybrid EVs.
The most popular EV in Australia is the Tesla Model 3, followed by the Tesla Model Y, MG HS PHEV, Lexus NX450H PHEV and Hyundai Kona EV.
While the 65 per cent increase in EV sales is encouraging, car manufacturers are not prioritising the Australian sector, choosing to divert new vehicles to faster growing markets overseas where EV demand is greater.
“We’ve seen instances where a new EV option has come onto the market and it’s sold out in a number of minutes because there’s a small number of vehicles the Australian arm of the manufacturer has been able to secure,” says Dr Jake Whitehead, head of policy at the Electric Vehicle Council.
In regards to EV infrastructure, the report found that in June 2022 there were 2147 charging stations in Australia, a 15 per cent increase compared to early 2021, and nearly double the number in operation in August 2020.
