Australians bought more electric vehicles in the first six months of 2026 than the whole of the previous year, new data shows, as the ongoing crisis in the Middle East causes uncertainty about petrol prices.<\/p>\n
There were 103,855 battery electric vehicles (EVs) sold nationally between January and June, compared with 103,269 in 2025, according to data from VFacts and the Electric Vehicle Council.<\/p>\n
Battery EVs as a share of new car sales doubled compared with the same time last year, making up 23.4% of sales in June 2026 compared with 10.3% in June 2025.<\/p>\n
Sign up for the Breaking News Australia email<\/a><\/p>\n Sales of plug-in hybrids were also outpacing last year\u2019s figures, with 54,121 sold in the first six months of 2026 compared with 53,249 throughout 2025. Plug-in hybrids made up 11.5% of all sales last month, compared with 4.8% in June 2025.<\/p>\n Electric vehicle sales soar in 2026<\/a><\/p>\n Julie Delvecchio, chief executive of the Electric Vehicle Council, said the sharp rise was driven by unique circumstances. \u201cIt\u2019s clear that the fuel crisis has reminded all of us how reliant we really are on overseas fuel.\u201d<\/p>\n As a result, she said, EVs as \u201csomething that people may have been considering jumped to the top of the list\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re hopeful that it will be a sustained trend, but we\u2019ll have to wait and see,\u201d she said. \u201cWhat we do know for sure is that once people switch to an EV, they generally never go back.\u201d<\/p>\n Fuel prices were expected to rise again after the government\u2019s temporary cut to the excise ends this coming Sunday<\/a>.<\/p>\n Diesel prices are up by about 50 cents in July to about $2.20 a litre in the major east coast cities.<\/p>\n