EV SALES EXPECTED TO DOUBLE THIS YEAR, REPORT FINDS

BYD Atto 3

More than one in five cars sold in the ACT are now electric vehicles. That’s more 
than double the figure for the other states and territories, led by NSW and Tasmania 
where they account for nine per cent of the market. Australia-wide EVs account for 
8.4 per cent of new vehicle sales, with a total of 46,624 sales for the first six months 
of this year.
 
These are the findings of  the annual State of Electric Vehicles report by the Electric 
Vehicle Council (EVC) which predicts sales of EVs are on track to more than double 
in 2023.
 
At the same time the EVC warns Australia continues to lag comparable nations when 
it comes to consumer choice and is likely to do so until necessary policy reform is 
introduced. The report finds that although there has been growth in model choice, 
Australia’s EV market continues to be dominated by a just few models, with the Tesla 
Model Y, Tesla Model 3 and the BYD Atto 3 representing 68.1 per cent of Australia’s 
EV market.

MG ZS EV

 
This underscores the need for policies that can both increase sales volume and 
improve the variety of options available to consumers, it says. 
 
EVC chief executive Behyad Jafari said the although the acceleration in EV sales 
was encouraging, Australia would never come close to catching up with the rest of 
the world under current policy settings. 
 
“Australians now know the future of driving is electric and there’s growing 
enthusiasm for all of the benefits that will deliver,” he said. 
 
“While Australians have some high-quality options to choose from, it’s no surprise 
that the models that were most available had the highest sales. Many other brands 
simply sold out of their full allocation of vehicles sent to Australia. That’s because 
global carmakers are still only sending a trickle of the vehicles they produce to the 
Australian market, because we remain one of the few nations on earth without new 
vehicle efficiency standards.” 
 
“Our lack of new vehicle efficiency standards means car makers are essentially 
rewarded for sending their EVs to markets other than Australia. So small wonder we 
remain at the back of the queue. The EV models that lead the sales charts at the 
moment are terrific, but Australian consumers should have the same choices as 
drivers in other countries. If the Australian Government gets on with introducing 
strong new vehicle efficiency standards, we will see consumer choice expand 
rapidly.” 

Audi e-Tron

 
“The good news for the federal government is that its initial policies are clearly 
working, and demand is sky high. By introducing globally competitive standards we 
can get the supply of EV options to match demand.”
 
Once again, the State of Electric Vehicles report assigns Australian governments a 
score out of 10 depending on their policies regarding electric vehicle uptake across 
all segments of vehicles.  
 
ACT and NSW lead with a rating of 9/10, while the Northern Territory and Tasmania 
lag with 4/10 ratings. Victoria receives a poor 5/10 rating due to the state 
governments confusing signals to the market, especially the premature introduction 
of an EV tax and its abrupt cancellation of incentives.
 
The Federal Government scores 7/10, recognising the creation of a National EV 
policy, which had not occurred under the previous federal government. 
 

About Chris Riley

Chris Riley has been a journalist for 40 years. He has spent half of his career as a writer, editor and production editor in newspapers, the rest of the time driving and writing about cars both in print and online. His love affair with cars began as a teenager with the purchase of an old VW Beetle, followed by another Beetle and a string of other cars on which he has wasted too much time and money. A self-confessed geek, he’s not afraid to ask the hard questions - at the risk of sounding silly.
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