Sales of Electric Vehicles are Rising, but not quickly

As more Australians purchase zero- or low-emission vehicles, EV sales are increasing. However, the carbon-intensive transportation industry is not adopting EVs quickly enough to reach the 2030 targets set by NSW, Victoria, and Queensland, which call for EVs to account for 50% of all new car sales.

Since June of last year, when the auto industry was hampered by pandemic-related supply chain problems, sales of EVs have more than doubled. According to data from the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries, 16.6% of new cars sold nationwide in June of this year were battery electric, hybrid, or plug-in hybrid models.

Since June is the last month of the fiscal year, it is usually a month with high sales, and the auto industry was not let down by this. With 124,926 vehicles leaving the showroom floor, they reached a new high – the biggest monthly total since June 2018.

However, sport utility vehicles and pick-up trucks with high fuel consumption continue to account for the majority of sales of light vehicles in the nation. 7.4% of all new vehicle sales in the first half of this year and 8.8% of sales last month were battery electric vehicles.

The Model Y, an electric vehicle produced by Tesla, was the second-highest selling vehicle in June with sales of 5560 units. With 6142 units sold, the Toyota HiLux ute was the best-selling car.

“Sales of EVs are ramping up,” a director at the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries, Peter Griffin, said.

The lack of low emission models in the light commercial and sports utility sectors, according to him, is one of the primary barriers to increased EV sales.