‘It’s not an inner-city thing’: Bowen reveals the suburbs leading the charge to EVs

Australia’s electric vehicle sales are rising, along with the number of cheaper models on the market, as Energy Minister Chris Bowen declares their lower running costs are helping drive growth in the outer suburbs.

Nearly one in 10 cars sold in Australia in the 12 months to the end of April was an electric vehicle (EV). They made up 9.4 per cent of new car sales compared to 8.4 per cent in the same period of 2023 and 3.8 per cent the year before, according to the federal government’s National Electric Vehicle Strategy update released on Thursday.

Outer-metropolitan areas are leading the take-up of electric vehicles. Credit: Bloomberg

Despite the steady rise in domestic EV sales, they are still running at about half the global average, which was 18 per cent of all new car sales globally in 2023, according to the International Energy Agency.

Bowen is confident the government’s policies can bridge this gap. Its chief initiative to drive sales – pollution caps on car makers’ new fleets – starts next July and the government is spending hundreds of millions of dollars along with private industry to roll out new EV charging stations.

The Albanese government needs EV sales to grow dramatically to help reach its targets of cutting emissions 43 per cent from 2005 levels by 2030 and reaching net zero emissions by 2050.

Given the average lifespan of an Australian car is 10 years, EVs would need to reach 100 per cent of new car sales by 2033 to decarbonise the transport sector, according to market analyst Bloomberg New Energy Finance.

NSW, Victoria and Queensland have set targets for EVs to reach 50 per cent of new car sales by 2030 and 100 per cent by 2035.

Bowen said residents of outer suburbs wanting to cut their transportation costs were leading the take-up of EVs.

“It is not an inner-city thing,” he said on Thursday. “It’s a myth that only people in the inner cities buy electric vehicles.

“People in the western suburbs of Sydney and Melbourne and the other cities, who tend to drive longer to get places, realise the benefits of buying an EV.

“Tesla’s best-selling outlet the last time I looked was Parramatta. There are more Teslas sold in Blacktown than Bondi.”

There were 23 EV models on sale for under $60,000 in 2023, up from 14 the year before. The average EV costs about $400 in electricity a year, while annual fuel costs for a petrol car average $2400.

Figures from the Electric Vehicle Council in April showed strong growth in the take-up of EVs by residents of the outer suburbs of major cities, based on figures from Tesla and BYD, which comprise about three-quarters of EV sales.

About 43 per cent of electric cars sold by these companies in 2023 were to people living in the outer suburbs, compared to 39 per cent sold in the inner suburbs.

Bowen also announced $100 million of funding via the Clean Energy Finance Corporation for Ampol to deliver more than 200 public fast-charging bays by 2025.

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