Charging ahead: EV sales boom in September

A slew of new models and the federal government’s renewed focus on developing an EV policy has contributed to surging sales.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk walks beside the Tesla Model Y. (Photo by Frederic J. BROWN / AFP)

Australians are purchasing electric vehicles in record numbers, with the automotive industry’s peak body reporting a surge in EV sales across September.

Some 7247 battery electric vehicles were sold across Australia in September, marking the first time EV sales have outstripped hybrid and plug-in hybrid sales combined (5141 total sales) in our market.

Hybrid powertrains — which combine an electric motor with a petrol engine and appear in some of the country’s most popular vehicles, like the Toyota RAV4 Hybrid — have long been the dominant green technology in Australia.

But a combination of Covid-related delays, supply chain issues and parts shortages has slowed deliveries of hybrid vehicles, allowing pure EV vehicle sales to edge ahead for the first time.

The figures, compiled by the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries (FCAI), suggest EV take-up is rapidly increasing in Australia, though sales remain a fraction of Australia’s total new-car market.

“Year to date, 21,771 battery electric vehicles have been sold,” says FCAI Chief Executive Tony Weber. “While the overall market share of battery electric vehicles remains low, at 2.7 per cent, there is a clear market trend towards zero-emission technology.”

Australia’s year-to-date EV sales have already overtaken 2021’s full-year results, when 20,665 electric vehicles were sold, and have more than tripled since 2020, when 6900 EVs were delivered.

Australia’s Electric Vehicle Council says a combination of new models arriving in Australia and a renewed government focus on EV take-up is driving the increase.

“Australian consumers are telling us that they want to buy electric vehicles. As new models are made available here, Australians buy them,” says Electric Vehicle Council CEO, Behyad Jafari.

“The Federal Government’s Electric Vehicle Discussion Paper is only the first step towards developing a policy. But as a consumer, you’re buying a new technology, not just new car, and you want to know there is an industry, and a government, supporting it.”

The EV trend is being driven overwhelmingly by Tesla in Australia, with Elon Musk’s company responsible for 5969 sales last month — or more than 82 per cent of September’s total electric vehicle total — with the arrival of the brand’s Model Y SUV (4359 sales) leading the charge.

In fact, the Tesla Model Y was Australia’s third best-selling vehicle last month, trailing only the Toyota HiLux and Ford Ranger (both diesel-powered dual-cab utes) in the new-car sales race.

The all-electric SUV starts at more than $70,000, and its 62.3kWh battery will deliver a driving range of 455km between charges.