Here are five charts that show how Australia’s industry is booming.
Growth last year
Transport is the second-biggest greenhouse gas-emitting sector in Australia,with cars contributing the largest portion of pollution.
In good news,EV purchases in Australia have grown significantly in the past year,from about 21,000 new cars purchased in 2021 to 40,000 in 2022. This figure,published in a new report by the Electric Vehicle Council,includes battery (BEV) and plug-in hybrid (PHEV) cars. The council is the national lobby group for the sector.
This growth has been largely helped by
The report notes the number of EVs purchased increased by 86 per cent in the past year,with 3.8 per of all new cars bought being electric. While this is a positive sign,other countries have a 20 per cent new EV purchase rate.
The new figures show that Australia has about 83,000 EVs on its roads – a sharp increase from 44,000 EVs at the start of 2022. Electric Vehicle Council chief executive Behyad Jafari said Australia was likely to reach 100,000 on the road this year.
“The demand has naturally been there for a few years,but we have more cars available to Australians and different options are coming on the market. Every EV[in Australia] is sold out when order books open,” he said.
ACT wins
The ACT has the largest portion of the EV market share,with 9.7 per cent,but NSW and Victoria have made significant increases in the area.
For example,Victoria wants to make half of all light vehicle sales zero emission cars by 2030. NSW has made in the area,including removing stamp duty from EVs under $78,000 and from all other EVs and plug-in hybrids from July 1,2027.
Even the Northern Territory almost doubled market share between 2021 and 2022,although off a lower base.
Battery or hybrid
The report notes that of the 83,000 EVs on the road,the majority are battery electric vehicles (BEVs) versus 21 per cent plug-in hybrids (PHEVs).
Jafari said Australia would struggle to meet its national emissions targets unless more was done.
“To achieve the federal government’s emission target,we’ll need a near fully zero-emission vehicle fleet by 2050. To stay on track,that means reaching 1 million EVs by 2027 and around 3 million by 2030.” he said. “We can definitely hit these goals,but not without an ambitious fuel efficiency standard to expand the supply of EVs to Australia. The federal government should introduce this standard this year as a matter of urgency.
“Australians are early adaptors by nature,we care about our environment and we don’t want to rely on foreign oil. There is no reason for us to continue to lag the world on EV take-up.”
The federal government is seeking stakeholder views on fuel efficiency standards,but noted earlier consultation had supported them.
A spokeswoman for Transport Minister Catherine King said if the government proceeds,additional detailed consultation and analysis would be undertaken.
Australia lags other countries
Globally,EV uptake is booming. The International Energy Agency said there were,a tripling in just three years.
Britain,Japan,France and Germany have pledged to ban sales of combustion engines between 2025 and 2030. While Norway became the first country where EV sales outstripped petrol,diesel and hybrid vehicle sales combined in 2020.
China has 7.8 million EVs on the road,while Europe has 5.5 million and the US has 2 million. China also has the EV battery value chain. It’s where almost all (97 per cent) of Australia’s lithium is processed,and it makes three-quarters of the world’s battery cells.
Jafari said it was important to remember other countries had bigger populations than ours. But we also have a chance to become a world leader given Australia’s. It is already the world’s top producer of lithium,and among the biggest producers of nickel,cobalt,manganese ore and rare earths.
The International Energy Agency estimates demand for EV batteries will grow more than tenfold this decade,stretching production capacity and supply of materials that go into them.
University of Sydney School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering Professor Yuan Chen said with increased investment in Australian charging infrastructure,sales would continue to increase.
The EVC report notes the number of public chargers increased from about 3400 in 2021 to almost 4950 last year,while fast chargers were up from 231 to 365.
Chen said Australia’s environment made it an ideal EV market.
“Our weather conditions are perfect for EVs – temperatures across Australia are in the moderate range,” he said. “In Norway,temperatures go down to minus 30 degrees,but we don’t have that issue.”
He added that Australia’s renewable energy markets would also allow cars to be charged without relying on electricity from fossil fuel industries,and the country had a unique opportunity to create an EV industry. “It will take years,” he said.
What’s the most popular brand
There are more than 70 models available to consumers,with about 38 BEVs and 32 PHEVs. While the below graphic shows the top 20 models from last year,some of them weren’t on the market the entire year.
Looking ahead,electric sports cars,SUVs,vans and a full fleet of battery-powered hatchbacks are expected to rev into Australia this year. Toyota,Fiat,Subaru and Ford are poised to launch electric vehicles in the country for the first time.
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