Electric car sales in Australia continue to reach new record levels, according to figures that reveal the market share for internal combustion engine vehicles fell below 70% for the first time.
The latest quarterly sales data from peak motoring body the Australian Automobile Association (AAA) shows electric vehicles accounted for 9.7% of new cars sold in the three months to September, the highest proportion on record.
While welcoming the figures, the Electric Vehicle Council has urged state and territory governments to reinstate axed EV subsidies to help drive the level of sales projected to be required for Australia to meet its emissions reductions goals.
Sign up: AU Breaking News email
A record 29,298 battery-electric vehicles were sold in the September quarter, 54 more than the previous three months’ total, which was the highest at the time.
Sales for hybrids (49,929 sold) and plug-in hybrids (12,460) also rose, coinciding with a marked drop in demand for internal combustion vehicles.
A total of 210,458 petrol-powered cars were sold in the latest quarter, down from 226,306 in the previous three quarter.
The share of internal combustion engine vehicles among all new cars sold nationally fell to 69.65% in the September quarter, the lowest on record and down more than 12% from less than two years ago.
The proportion was even lower in New South Wales (68.74%) and Victoria (68.04%).
In the ACT, petrol-powered cars accounted for less than half of all new cars sold.
Aman Gaur, the Electric Vehicle Council’s head of legal, policy and advocacy, welcomed the growth of EV sales and decline in internal combustion vehicles.
“There is a trend that is clear over the last two years that Australians are moving away from environmentally dangerous, expensive to run cars, towards ones that are electrified – and they are saving lots of money,” he said.
The federal government has policies to boost the uptake of EVs, including fuel efficiency standards and fringe benefits tax exemptions, but has not set a sales target.
However, the Climate Change Authority has estimated EVs would need to account for half of all light vehicles sold over the next decade if the Albanese government wanted to achieve even the “lower end” of its aim to cut greenhouse gas emissions between 62% and 70% by 2035.
The authority’s chair, Matt Kean, has warned a proposed road-user charge could be a “headwind” to the mass adoption of EVs. The treasurer, Jim Chalmers, has said he was in “no rush” to develop the system – which would aim to replace lost fuel excise revenue – despite pressure from state governments desperate for funding to fix roads.
Gaur said state and territory governments needed to do more to support the national effort, urging them to restore EV incentive schemes.
He singled out the Western Australian government, which in May ended a popular scheme that offered buyers a $3,500 rebate on the purchase of an eligible EV.
“These are upfront vehicle incentives that have to be implemented so that Australians can continue making that leap. We can’t have a successful transition with just one level of government doing the heavy lifting,” Gaur said.