The Australian Electric Vehicle Council (EVC) has released exclusive 2021 sales figures that show Australia at the precipice of an EV boom.

Sales of plug-in electric vehicles more than tripled in the past year from 6,900 in 2020 to 20,665 in 2021. Electric cars now make up 1.95 per cent of the new car market, up from 0.78 per cent in 2020.

The Tesla Model 3 was the best selling electric car, with 12,094 units sold last year – accounting for 58.5 per cent of all EVs sold. It was followed by the MG ZS with 1,388 and the Mitsubishi Outlander with 592.

EVC Chief Executive  Behyad Jafri said the boost in sales was driven by positive policy changes at a state level and that momentum can now be built upon.

“The penny has now well and truly dropped on how good electric vehicles are. Most people in the car market will now be considering an electric option. The role of government is to help them make the jump,” Mr Jafari said.

“As a wealthy, car-loving, early-adapting nation, Australia should be an electric vehicle leader. If we were we could restart a thriving manufacturing industry supporting thousands of quality jobs. But we need to build rapidly on this current momentum.”

Jafari says that governments encouraging EV uptake will capture myriad societal benefits – cleaner air, reduced respiratory illness, smaller carbon footprint and quieter roads. But he said the federal government “desperately” needed to introduce rebates alongside fuel-efficiency standards, like other developed nations.

“Those that lag will make themselves a dumping ground for old tech, dirty vehicles.”

“After so many wasted years, Australia’s a long way back from the pack, but then again the cool thing about electric cars is how quickly they move from zero to a hundred.”

Top 10 BEV & PHEV models: 

1. Tesla Model 3 – 12,094
2. MG ZS – 1,388
3. Mitsubishi Outlander – 592
4. MG HS – 580
5. Porsche Taycan – 531
6. Hyundai Kona – 505
7. Volvo CS40 – 495
8. Hyundai Ioniq – 407
9. Nissan Leaf – 367
10. Mercedes-Benz EQA – 367

Sources:

EVC | EV sale boom presents a change to capture serious electric benefits if the government acts now.

2 February 2022