Sales of plug-in electric vehicles (EVs) have tripled in the past year from 6,900 in 2020 to 20,665 in 2021, reveal figures released by the Electric Vehicle Council (EVC).
The data shows that EVs now account for 1.95 per cent of sales of new vehicles, up from 0.78 per cent in 2020, with the most purchased EV being the Tesla Model 3 with 12,094 sales.
Behyad Jafari, Chief Executive at the EVC, said positive policy change at state level was behind the boost in sales.
“Governments that take the path of encouragement will capture myriad societal benefits – cleaner air, reduced respiratory illness, smaller carbon footprint, quieter roads. Those that lag will make themselves a dumping ground for old tech, dirty vehicles.”
Jafari said it was great that state governments have received the global message, but that the federal government was stuck in the past.
“We desperately need the federal government to introduce Australian EV rebates alongside fuel efficiency standards, just like other developed nations. If we get these changes, you’ll see sales figures really rocket ahead.”
Other top selling EVs were the MG ZS with 1388 sales, Mitsubishi Outlander with 592, and MG HS with 580.
Jafari said that given Australia is a wealthy, car-loving, early adapting nation, it should be an EV leader.
“If we were we could restart a thriving manufacturing industry supporting thousands of quality jobs. But we need to build rapidly on this current momentum.
“After so many wasted years, Australia’s a long way back from the pack, but then again the cool thing about electric cars is how quickly they move from zero to a hundred.”