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<\/p>\nFor years, the affordability of electric cars has been one of the biggest sticking points holding back the energy transition.<\/p>\n
Critics labelled them an elitist fantasy, consumers opted for cheaper up-front petrol and diesel alternatives and overall EV uptake remained niche.<\/p>\n
But with the cheapest EV coming to Australia this year costing just $26,000 \u2014 about the same as its petrol equivalent \u2014 the landscape has shifted dramatically.<\/p>\n
So with over 150 options and cheaper-than-ever electric cars available, why is Australia still lagging the rest of the world?<\/p>\n
EVs have gotten much cheaper<\/p>\n
There are EVs in all categories, and prices have dropped across the board. They are no longer considered a luxury item, according to Swinburne University professor of transport and sustainability Hussein Dia.<\/p>\n
“Last year especially, we’ve seen an influx of cheaper models, especially from China, and that is helping. Australia is now gradually moving from early adoption to hopefully mainstream consideration.”<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Hussein Dia from Swinburne University says electric vehicles are becoming more mainstream in Australia, as more affordable options enter the market. (ABC News)<\/p>\n
Professor Dia said prices for EVs have moved closer to their non-electric peers.<\/p>\n
“If we were having this conversation three years ago or two years ago, we couldn’t find an EV for $50,000 to $60,000. Now they’re down to the $30,000s, and I expect there’s going to be more coming to the market as well.”<\/p>\n
Tim Washington, the chief executive of Jetcharge, an Australian charging company, said buyers were still stuck on focusing on up-front cost instead of looking at price over time.<\/p>\n
Due to cheaper maintenance and the option to charge with dirt-cheap daytime solar, electric cars already dominate fuel cars in terms of running costs.<\/p>\n
“When [people] go out and buy vehicles, they look at the sticker price if you’d like \u2026 We’re finally getting to a point where electric vehicles at the up-front price level are getting to parity.”<\/p>\n
Globally, electric car sales are taking off as China’s electrification boom<\/a> has brought down the cost of EVs. According to analysis from energy think tank Ember, EVs have made up over a quarter of global new car sales between January and October last year, up from less than 3 per cent in 2019.<\/p>\n Australia loves its SUVs, trucks<\/p>\n While smaller EVs are hitting price parity, Australians just love SUVs and trucks.<\/p>\n If you think you suddenly saw a lot of dual-cap BYDs pop up, you were not mistaken.<\/p>\n Utes were the second-largest segment of cars, showing an increase in EV sales, and BYD’s Shark was the fourth highest-selling ute overall, according to research from Jetcharge.<\/p>\n Electric vehicle sales are growing but are still a long way behind internal combustion engine sales. (ABC News: Rhiana Whitson)<\/p>\n Despite carrying a premium, medium-sized electric SUVs made-up the majority of EV sales in Australia in 2025. Electric models made-up more than a quarter of sales in that segment, up from only 16 per cent in 2024.<\/p>\n “Medium SUVs have shot up in terms of popularity and \u2026 represent a large proportion of EV sales. The reality is that people are buying really big cars,” Mr Washington said.<\/p>\n The Tesla Model Y, BYD’s Sealion 7, and Kia’s EV5 were the top sellers, according to car news and reviews website Car Expert.<\/a><\/p>\n As more EVs are sold in Australia, a growing second-hand market will also help bring down costs.<\/p>\n “I think one of the things that gets ignored is just how much choice and value is being cascaded onto the second-hand market, where most Australians are buying vehicles.<\/p>\n “I actually think buying a second-hand electric vehicle is one of the bargains that is often overlooked because it’s just not as cool a story as new vehicles.”<\/p>\n Hybrids and EV sales rates<\/p>\n While 2025 was a record year for electric car options in Australia, the biggest growth came from hybrid options.<\/p>\n Plug-in hybrid EVs (PHEVs) have a combustion engine that burns fuel, and an electric motor that runs on power from a rechargeable battery.<\/p>\n A study last year of hundreds of thousands of PHEVs showed most users do not regularly recharge their battery, and so the vehicles emit almost as much as a petrol car.<\/p>\n China’s electrification boom has helped bring down the cost of EVs globally. (AP: Matthias Schrader, File)<\/p>\n Don’t plug in your plug-in hybrid? Here’s how the emissions add up<\/a><\/p>\n Plug-in hybrid electric vehicles are sweeping the Australian market. Exclusive modelling suggests the “low emission” sales boom may actually delay emissions reductions.<\/p>\n Professor Dia said hybrids have been more popular than originally anticipated, but still don’t offer the same decarbonisation benefits as straight electric cars.<\/p>\n “They’re eating into the petrol market, I think that is a good story \u2026 but eventually we would like to see a higher transition to battery electric, just like what’s happening in the Nordic countries and also in China,” he said.<\/p>\n ‘Range anxiety’ and charging worries<\/p>\n Despite the booming electric market, last year’s sales data put Australia below the global average and well behind comparable countries.<\/p>\n “We have started from behind. We’re still behind, but there seems to be good momentum,” Professor Dia reflected.<\/p>\n Some of the issues that have held drivers back from electric cars, such as range anxiety and charging infrastructure, are improving as the technology advances.<\/p>\n Now, electric cars on offer in Australia boast of ranges as far as 750 kilometres (this depends on the driving conditions, as with all advertised ranges), although with a much higher price tag.<\/p>\n EVs take off in outer suburbs<\/a><\/p>\n Nanda, who lives about 60km from Melbourne’s CBD, says he’s saved up to $6,000 a year thanks to switching to an electric car. He’s part of a growing trend that has seen EV sales in outer suburbs boom as cost-of-living pressures bite.<\/p>\n For most commuters, many of these anxieties go away once drivers buy their first electric car, Mr Washington said.<\/p>\n “The data tells us that the vast majority of people who worry about range anxiety, charging anxiety and plugging in are those who don’t drive EVs.<\/p>\n “And it is, I think, also a problem with a lot of the surveys that we see coming out about people’s anxieties and likelihood to buy an electric vehicle, because for many, it comes from a non-lived experience.”<\/p>\n On average, Australians drive about 33 kilometres a day. (ABC: Ben Deacon )<\/p>\n On average, Australians drive around 12,000km a year, or 33km each day, meaning many drivers can get by with plugging their car in each night to a standard powerpoint (often called a granny charger as it’s the slowest charging option) and topping up that way.<\/p>\n “[For] people who live in houses and individual dwellings, and they have a driveway, I think charging is easy. Also, if they have, like, solar and batteries, it becomes very cheap as well,” Professor Dia said.<\/p>\n While charging at home is easier in regional and suburban areas, they often don’t have the same facilities for public chargers, which become essential for longer road trips.<\/p>\n Charging EVs everywhere<\/a><\/p>\n A lack of charging infrastructure across the country is often cited as a barrier to the transition to electric vehicles. But soon, EV charging could be a simple as finding a car park.<\/p>\n “If you are within any of the metropolitan areas in Australia, you’re very well served. The problem is when you go outside these areas \u2026 we have these charging deserts across the country.<\/p>\n “We should make it equitable for everyone, even people who are living in regional areas. I’m sure they would be willing to shift to an EV, but they need that confidence as well [that] they’re being treated on an equal footing like people who are living in more densely-populated locations.”<\/p>\n The longer Australia lags in electric car uptake, the greater the challenge will become to reach the country’s climate targets. To reach our 2035 goal, half of the new cars sold in Australia over the next decade will need to be electric, according to the Climate Change Authority.<\/p>\n Are electric cars really greener than fuel cars?<\/a><\/p>\n Whether you drive an electric car or are considering making the switch, you’ve probably been drawn into a discussion about whether they are really better for the climate.<\/p>\n As emissions fall across the electricity sector with more renewables, transport is set to become Australia’s highest emitting sector.<\/p>\n “Our CO2 emissions per kilometre, on average, has actually increased over the past few years as a country. I think the price parity for up-front cost has come at the perfect time to try and drive those CO2 emissions down,” Mr Washington said.<\/p>\n “There is zero chance of getting to zero emissions transport if we don’t go electric.”<\/p>\n What will 2026 deliver?<\/p>\n Aware of transport’s growing climate problem, the federal government introduced the national vehicle efficiency standards (NVES) to get car makers to bring more low-emissions options<\/a> to the Australian market.<\/p>\n![\"An](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/4db45946effe393953c4118fe514d5d8.jpeg\")
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