Electrical automobile gross sales have greater than doubled in Australia over the previous yr as customers and authorities insurance policies carry out a U-turn on zero-emissions transport expertise.
However some states and territories are performing considerably higher than others, a report from the Electrical Automobile Council has discovered.
It desires the federal authorities to set a powerful customary to encourage automakers to convey extra automobile choices to Australia.
The report card arrives months after the federal government launched the Nationwide Electrical Automobile Technique and pledged to unveil a fuel-efficiency customary earlier than the tip of the yr.
The State of Electrical Automobiles report for July, launched on Monday, discovered gross sales of battery-powered vehicles soared by 121 per cent over the previous yr, with extra EVs bought within the first six months of 2023 than all through all of 2022.
About 130,000 electrical autos have been being pushed on Australian roads by July, the report discovered, with the nation on monitor to haven nearly 180,000 in use by the tip of the yr.
Three fashions dominate the market, with Tesla’s Mannequin Y and Mannequin 3, plus BYD’s Atto 3 making up 68 per cent of gross sales.
Electrical Automobile Council chief government Behyad Jafari mentioned the gross sales leap confirmed Australians “now know the way forward for driving is electrical,” however potential consumers have been nonetheless being held again by a small vary and fewer inventory.
“Whereas Australians have some high-quality choices to select from, it is no shock that the fashions that have been probably the most obtainable had the best gross sales,” he mentioned.
“International automobile makers are nonetheless solely sending a trickle of the autos they produce to the Australian market as a result of we stay one of many few nations on Earth with out new automobile effectivity requirements.”
Mr Jafari mentioned the shortage of provide might be addressed if the federal authorities launched a “globally aggressive” customary to assist manufacturers safe larger automobile allocations for the nation.
Regardless of the gross sales enhance, the report discovered Australia was nonetheless lagging different international locations within the electrification race, together with Canada, New Zealand and Singapore, along with market leaders Sweden and Norway.
Some states and territories have been a lot additional forward than others, with the ACT and NSW main the nation and scoring 9 out of 10 within the report for his or her electrical automobile insurance policies.
The Northern Territory and Tasmania tied for final place, with low marks for automobile gross sales, knowledge and business initiatives, whereas Victoria scored solely somewhat higher, with 5 out of 10 after cancelling its automobile rebate early and charging EV drivers to make use of roads.
“There’s actually encouraging momentum throughout most of Australia on EV coverage however our report additionally finds there’s ample room for enchancment,” Mr Jafari mentioned.
