Electric vehicle sales hit two-year low in Australia as hybrid cars boom
There were 17,914 new battery electric vehicles sold in the first three months of this year, according to the Australian Automobile Association (AAA), equivalent to 6.3% of all new car sales.
The last time the number of new electric vehicles sold was this low was in the first three months of 2023, when 17,396 cars were sold, the AAA's quarterly electric vehicle report said.
Sign up for Guardian Australia's breaking news email
This year's first quarter figures also represent a decline in market share compared to the final quarter of 2024, when battery EVs made up 7.42% of new car sales with 21,331 sold, the AAA figures showed.
Vehicles with traditional internal combustion engines continued to dominate even though they too dropped in popularity, with 206,810 sold in the March quarter, or 72.68% of all new car sales.
In the final three months of 2024, 215,789 cars with internal combustion engines were sold, working out to 75.1% of the market, the AAA's report said.
At the same time, however, sales of conventional hybrid cars – which combine a petrol or diesel engine with an electric motor – and plug-in hybrids, which also contain a chargeable battery – boomed.
The number of plug-in-hybrids sold nearly doubled to 13,698 – 4.81% of the market – in the first three months of this year compared with 7,556 sales – 2.63% of the market - in the final quarter of 2024.
The number of conventional hybrid vehicles sold increased from 42,618 to 46,115 over the same period.
To compile its reports, the AAA says it collates information from a range of sources including car sales data from two peak manufacturing bodies – the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries and the Electric Vehicle Council.
Overall, car sales fell by 0.96% in the March quarter, the report said.
The decline in the number of electric vehicles sold came in the immediate wake of the federal government's national vehicle efficiency standard coming into effect on 1 January.
Introduced by the Albanese government in its first term, the standard is designed to bring more fuel-efficient cars into the market by penalising manufacturers of high-polluting vehicles if they exceed an emissions cap.
The cap – which the government has said will be lowered over time – applies to new cars, in an effort to incentivise carmakers to supply low-and zero-emissions vehicles to Australia.
It was expected the standard would lower the cost of electric vehicles by making it cheaper and easier to bring them into the market.
The government has said the standard will reduce greenhouse gas emissions from new passenger vehicles by more than 60% by 2030.
The standard forms part of the government's plan to achieve its commitment to lower greenhouse gas emissions to 43% below 2005 levels by 2030 and achieve net-zero emissions by 2050.
The climate change and energy minister, Chris Bowen, has been contacted for comment.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Guardian
4 minutes ago
- The Guardian
Chinese carmakers buck market trend to report soaring UK sales
Chinese carmakers led by BYD reported big jumps in UK sales last month, despite a declining overall car market, including a 59% slump in sales from electric vehicle rival Tesla. BYD sales quadrupled year on year to reach 3,200 in July, even as overall sales of all types of car declined by 5% to 140,000, according to data published on Tuesday by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT), a lobby group. The car industry has said it is struggling with a weak economy, which is holding back consumer spending. At the same time, carmakers are waiting for clarity on which models will be eligible for subsidies of up to £3,750 under a new grant scheme announced by the UK government last month. The government on Tuesday said that four Citroën models would be eligible for the grant. Chinese carmakers will not qualify for the UK electric car grants because they rule out cars from countries with carbon-intensive electricity grids. However, that has not so far stopped Chinese manufacturers from targeting Britain, which is one of the most lucrative car markets in Europe. BYD, which is contending with Tesla to be the world's biggest maker of battery electric vehicles, has launched an aggressive sales push in the UK, undercutting rivals on battery cars. Its sales increased sixfold during the first seven months of 2025 compared with last year to 22,600. Chery, a Chinese state-controlled manufacturer, has launched 19,000 vehicles in Britain in 2025 under its Omoda and Jaecoo brands, compared with zero last year. America's Tesla, run by Elon Musk, was the first electric brand to make a major impact in the UK. However, its sales during the first seven months of 2025 have dropped by 7% compared with the same period a year earlier. Analysts have been closely watching its progress because of the political backlash against Musk after his short-lived but divisive alliance with Donald Trump. Tesla's July sales fell by 60% year on year to fewer than 1,000, although the carmaker's sales can be volatile depending on the timing of imports to the UK. The sales drop came despite the launch of a refreshed version of its flagship Model Y vehicle. Not every Chinese carmaker recorded an increase in sales. MG, a historic British brand, has been reinvented as a maker of electric cars and hybrids under the ownership of SAIC, another of China's four large, state-owned carmakers. MG's sales fell 10% year on year to 5,600, making it the 12th biggest car brand in the UK so far this year – as well as the biggest Chinese-owned brand. Sign up to Business Today Get set for the working day – we'll point you to all the business news and analysis you need every morning after newsletter promotion Other Chinese carmakers have also started to sell cars in the UK, but in much smaller numbers than MG and BYD. Xpeng finally launched in the UK in February, but it has only sold 164 of its premium electric vehicles in the first seven months of 2025, while Leapmotor has sold 790 through a partnership with Vauxhall owner Stellantis. Others have sold even fewer cars in the UK so far. Skywell – a partnership between Chinese consumer electronics company Skyworth and busmaker Nanjing Golden Dragon – sold five cars in the UK in July. The company's website boasts that its SUV offers 'Exclusive space, Great pattern', an 'All-round health and pleasure cockpit' and a 'Novel hugging seat'.
Reuters
34 minutes ago
- Reuters
Elon Musk's politics hit Tesla sales in Europe's biggest car markets
Aug 5 (Reuters) - Tesla's (TSLA.O), opens new tab new car registrations in Britain and Germany, Europe's biggest auto markets, more than halved in July from a year earlier, as CEO Elon Musk's political views deter buyers and the company grapples with regulatory challenges. Competition has also increased and sales of EVs made by China's BYD rose nearly five-fold in Germany and over four-fold in Britain in July, official industry data showed on Tuesday. Data last week showed a revamp of Tesla's signature Model Y had failed to reverse a fall in sales in major European markets. A Reuters report on Monday found enthusiasm for the brand has plunged since Musk endorsed Donald Trump in the run-up to his re-election last year. Tesla's July registrations - a proxy for sales - dropped by nearly 60% to 987 units in Britain and by over 55% to 1,110 in Germany, official industry data showed on Tuesday, taking the brand's decline in the month to 45% in 10 European markets that together accounted for over 80% of Tesla's first-half sales in the European Union, the UK and the European Free Trade Association. "That markets shrug at poor sales numbers suggests the company's fortunes rest on their ability to bring forward workable self-driving vehicles", said Ben Nelmes, founder of EV data analysis firm New AutoMotive. Since last year, Musk has shifted Tesla's focus to developing self-driving technology from new, affordable models for human drivers. Overall, the total number of newly registered cars in Germany rose by 11.1% to 264,802 vehicles, with sales of electric vehicles up 58% in July to 48,614 units, the German road traffic agency KBA said. The agency also said the sales volumes of Chinese electric vehicle manufacturer BYD ( opens new tab jumped almost fivefold in July to 1,126 units and more than fivefold to 7,449 units since the beginning of the year. New car registrations in Britain fell about 5% year-on-year in July to 140,154 units, with growth in battery electric vehicle sales moderating to 9.1% in the month, figures from industry body Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders showed. BYD sales in the country were up over 300% to 3,184 cars sold in the month. Battery electric vehicles are now projected to account for 23.8% of new registrations in 2025, slightly up from the society's previous forecast of 23.5%. "July's dip shows yet again the new car market's sensitivity to external factors, and the pressing need for consumer certainty," SMMT chief executive Mike Hawes said in a statement. The new electric car grant offers financial help to encourage people to buy BEVs. However, it's still unclear which models will be eligible, so some buyers are waiting, the SMMT said.
The Guardian
34 minutes ago
- The Guardian
Should big tech be allowed to mine Australians' text and data to train AI? The Productivity Commission is considering it
The Productivity Commission is examining whether technology firms should be exempted from copyright rules that stop companies from mining text and data to train artificial intelligence models. The PC, in its interim report into 'harnessing data and the digital economy', used copyright as a case study for how Australia's existing regulatory framework could be adapted to manage the risks of artificial intelligence. A key recommendation from the interim report was that the federal government should conduct a sweeping review of regulations to plug potential gaps that could be exploited by 'bad actors' using AI. Scott Farquhar, the co-founder of software company Atlassian, last week called for an 'urgent' overhaul of Australia's copyright rules, arguing they were out of step with other comparable countries. Farquhar said creating exemptions for text and data mining to train large language models 'could unlock billions of dollars of foreign investment into Australia'. That suggestion has been rejected by the Copyright Agency, a not-for-profit organisation that collects and distributes royalties to thousands of copyright holders. The agency has argued instead for the government to create a new compensation scheme for creators of content used by tech companies to train their AI models. Sign up: AU Breaking News email Stephen King, one of two commissioners leading the PC's inquiry into harnessing the opportunities of the digital economy, said: 'Copyright is a great example of where Australia needs to sit back and ask: 'Are our laws fit for purpose with AI?'' 'The obvious harm is that an AI company may use copyright materials without providing appropriate compensation. On the other side, we want the development of AI-specific tools that use that copyrighted material,' King said. 'It may be possible to say, can we approach AI the same way we have approached copyright in other ways, through copyright collections. Music is played everywhere, so we have set up collecting societies that are authorised under our competition laws, and they act on behalf of singers, songwriters and creators.' King said the PC was asking for feedback on other options, before a final recommendation by the end of the year. 'We have a fair dealing exemption that doesn't include text and data mining, maybe that should be an exemption – as long as AI companies are gaining legal copies and they have paid for it.' In its third of five thematic reports, the commission said artificial intelligence could resuscitate Australia's moribund productivity. PC modelling showed that even the most conservative estimate was that AI would deliver a $116bn boost to the economy over the next decade. King said that this translated into a $4,300 kicker to the average Australian's real wage in 10 years' time, and that the actual benefits could be much larger. The commission advised against creating an overarching AI-specific piece of legislation, and warned that clumsy or excessive regulation risked stifling the technology's potentially transformative benefits. That message is likely to be well received by the government, with Andrew Leigh, the assistant minister for productivity, backing this approach. But King said the commission was not arguing for a minimalist approach to AI regulation. 'It's not light-touch at all. What we are saying is that AI is going to make it easier, cheaper and faster for bad actors to engage in harmful conduct. But most of that harmful conduct is already illegal,' he said. 'Let's work out where the harms are and see whether they are covered by existing law. And if they are, let's make sure the regulators have the resources and powers to stop the bad actors.' The PC's interim report also backed changing privacy rules to incorporate an outcomes-based approach, rather than a 'box-ticking' exercise where businesses 'comply with the letter of the law but not the spirit of it'. The commission said the government 'should support new pathways to allow individuals and businesses to access and share data that relates to them'.
