‘We're just not getting the uptake': Electric vehicle sales drive off a cliff
The number of fully electric passenger vehicles sold fell 64 per cent in the first half of this year compared to the six months to July last year, down from 68,136 in 2024 to 54,531 this year.
Fully electric sports-utility-vehicle sales dropped 16 per cent during the same period, from 40,468 vehicles in 2024 to 33,887 in the first half of this year, according to sales figures from the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries and the Electric Vehicle Council.
However, sales of hybrid vehicles continue to grow, indicating that vehicles that save drivers on fuel costs, while producing fewer emissions, are popular with motorists.
Plug-in hybrid sports-utility-vehicle sales boomed in the first half of this year to 14,386, up 83 per cent compared to the first six months of 2024. Traditional hybrid SUVs grew 27 per cent in the same time.
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Slow EV sales do not bode well for the federal government's emissions reduction goals. It also confounds the government's generous scheme to boost EV sales with a waiver on fringe benefits tax, which can discount a vehicle's sticker price by up to $30,000 when combined with an employer's novated lease arrangement.
EVs comprised about 7.7 per cent of total vehicle sales in the first half of this year, compared with 8.0 per cent in 2024 and 7.4 per cent in 2023.
Clean cars are expected to deliver a big chunk of the pollution cuts needed to reach the federal government's commitment to net zero emissions by 2030.
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