The latest trends in the automotive industry show electric vehicle markets on the rise around the world. However, the EV bug is yet to find its way to Australia, with electric vehicles so far failing to make a dent in the market here.

But it does appear that Australia’s views on EV’s could be slowly changing, with a new report released by analysis firm Roy Morgan showing the number of Australians planning to purchase an EV has doubled since this time last year.

According to a similar report released in 2018, 238,000 people claimed that the next vehicle they purchased would be electric, with 621,000 looking at hybrids as a genuine potential option.

One year on, and the number of people considering an EV has risen to 438,000, while the number of people looking to purchase a hybrid now sits at 1,174,000.

The increased interest in electric and hybrid vehicles is largely for environmental reasons. 98.6% of those who are looking to make the shift to EVs reported that they recycle where they could according to the Roy Morgan report, while 92.8% demanded immediate climate change action and 89.7% considered themselves environmentalists.

Roy Morgan CEO, Michele Levine, said the data from the report should send a clear message to car manufacturers that Australians do indeed care about electric vehicles and the technology behind them.

“Over the past twelve months, we have seen nearly a doubling in the number of Australians looking to purchase both electric and hybrid vehicles as their next car purchase,” said Levine.

“These increasing numbers send a clear signal that Australians are interested in greener technologies.”

While the news is positive for consumer confidence in EV’s, the high price point of vehicles remains a firm barrier that needs to be overcome for sales to take off.

Despite more models of electric and hybrid vehicles making their way to Australian shores, the number of Australians looking to purchase a brand new model in the next four years has dropped from 45,000 in 2018 to 37,000.

Meanwhile, the number of people looking to purchase a second hand vehicle has risen from 28,000 to 61,000.

“When we look at the type of electric vehicles people are intending to buy, we see used vehicles growing more strongly than new vehicles, compared with a year ago,” said Levine.

“This is despite there not yet being a large second-hand electric vehicle market available”.

Overall, the news is promising for electric vehicles, with automakers standing up and taking note of buzz beginning to occur in Australia.

“The strong growth in popularity of electric and hybrid vehicles suggests that the number of Australians driving these cars will occupy an increasing proportion of the future car industry.

Original source: Renew Economy | The wheels turn as consumer interest in electric vehicles doubles

22 Aug 2019