Brisbane’s electric car uptake climbs twenty-fold since pandemic

The number of electric cars in Brisbane has increased almost twenty-fold since the pandemic began.

About one in 40 cars in the city are now entirely battery powered, according to new data obtained by Brisbane Times from the Department of Transport and Main Roads.

The numbers have roughly doubled every year since 2020, when 1069 electric cars were registered across the Brisbane City Council area.

Brisbane Uber driver Ali Taei says he and his family love their BYD Atto 3, which he bought last year. Credit: William Davis

In 2021, that number climbed to 2056. In 2022, it was 4001; in 2023, it hit 10,510; and this year it exceeded 20,629.

Uber driver Ali Taei owns one of them, forking out about $44,000 in January last year for a Chinese-made BYD Atto 3.

“One of the reasons I got the electric car is because the energy is cheaper than petrol … and we’ve heard it’s better for the environment,” he told Brisbane Times.

“The family loves it, the kids love it. It’s not noisy, it’s smooth to drive, and it’s got many nice features. I really enjoy it.”

Tesla still dominates the Brisbane market, with its Model 3 sedan and Model Y SUV variants making up more than half of all registered electric cars.

BYD’s Atto 3 is the next most popular model, with 2053 on the road, followed by the Polestar 2 (565) and Volvo’s XC40 (509).

MG, Nissan and Hyundai cars have also sold well.

Uptake is lower outside Brisbane, accounting for just 44,454 of the state’s 3,267,133 cars – just over one in every 100 vehicles.

Of the 170,605 new cars sold across Queensland this year, 12,761 – about 7.5 per cent – were electric. Including hybrids, that figure jumps to about 20 per cent.

The state government says it aims for half of all new cars to be electric by 2030, with the sale of new petrol-powered passenger cars expected to be phased out completely by 2036.

A government report this year projected about 2.6 million electric vehicles will be registered across the state by 2035.

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