Number of electric vehicles registered in Tasmania increases by more than 75 per cent

Tasmanians are increasingly embracing electric vehicles, with new data showing a huge jump in the number of EVs registered in the state – and it’s tipped to double again this year.

The number of electric vehicles on Tasmania’s roads has increased by more than 75 per cent in the past year and it’s expected to double again over the course of the next 12 months.

New figures from the State Growth Department show there was a 77 per cent increase in the number of EVs registered in Tasmania between 2022 and 2023 – up from 912 as at January 31, 2022 to 1612 at the same time this year.

The vast majority of these vehicles are classified as motor cars or station wagons (1480), while 120 are motorcycles, eight are vans, two are utilities and two are buses.

Clive Attwater, who runs an EV charging station business and is a member of the Australian Electric Vehicle Association’s Tasmanian branch, said the state had about 2 per cent of the national fleet of EVs, which was “roughly in proportion to our population”.

Clive Attwater of Bellerive with his Nissan Leaf electric car that is recharged using energy from the solar panels on his home. Picture: NIKKI DAVIS-JONES

“Very nearly we’ve doubled the number of electric vehicles in the last 12 months, which is very much in line with our expectations,” he said.

“We think it would have been higher had there been fewer restrictions on supply. Electric vehicles in Australia have been restricted in their availability.

“Those constraints are lifting. That is to say, more vehicles are becoming available, both [in terms of] variety of models and total count.

“And, as a result, we anticipate at least a doubling again this calendar year, possibly a little stronger, but with so many uncertainties with the international situation, it’s a bit hard to be super confident.”

The Tasmanian government introduced stamp duty and registration fee exemptions for electric vehicles in 2021 and has committed to fully electrify the government vehicle fleet by 2030.

On Tuesday, the Electric Vehicle Council revealed that Australia would soon pass the milestone of 100,000 EVs, estimating that more than 83,000 were now on the roads, up from 44,000 at the beginning of 2022.

EV Council chief executive Behyad Jafari with Australia's first electric Tuk Tuk.

The research showed that 79 per cent of these vehicles were battery electric vehicles, while 21 per cent were plug-in hybrids.

“If you think you’re seeing more EVs on the road than you used to, you’re right, but if we want to hit our national emissions targets we won’t make it on this current trajectory,” Electric Vehicle Council chief executive Behyad Jafari said.

“To achieve the federal government’s emission target [net zero by 2050] we’ll need a near fully zero-emission vehicle fleet by 2050. To stay on track that means reaching 1m EVs by 2027 and around 3m by 2030.”

Originally published as Number of electric vehicles registered in Tasmania increases by more than 75 per cent