Australians interested in EVs but many barriers are holding back sales

The rising cost of petrol has boosted interest in electric vehicles but there are still a few hurdles for customers that are holding back EV sales in Australia, according to research by CarsGuide.

Demand for full electric and hybrid vehicles are greater than ever with a 300 per cent growth in recent weeks.

But the CarsGuide research has revealed there are still a number of barriers Australians are facing when buying EVs – and the biggest one for 87 per cent of customers is the price.

In other countries, subsidies have helped increase the rate of adoption but in Australia, the state-by-state vehicle tax has made it even more confusing for customers.

In 2021, there was a 150 per cent year-on-year increase of EV sales in Australia which now account for 1.6 per cent of the local market.

“There’s a great amount of interest in electric vehicles in Australia that results in a huge appetite for information, yet there isn’t a simple, clear data set for consumers to access,” said New Energy Vehicle Specialist at CarsGuide, Tom White.

“Add to that the state-by-state regulations, and consumers face a lot of complexities when considering an EV.

“The EV landscape in Australia is not as straightforward as it is when buying a petrol car.

“There are diverse and complex factors affecting industry-wide knowledge which make it difficult to differentiate key performance factors and model specifications.

“It is paramount that Australians are aware and understand all of the factors, new and similar to petrol cars, that need to be considered when choosing an EV or a hybrid.”

Australians are ready to move to electric vehicle with more than half considering an EV as their next car.

But, CarGuide says there is still a massive gap between consideration and sales.

Price is the biggest barrier to purchase and, unfortunately, Australian customers don’t have same range of affordable alternatives that we see in other larger markets.

Australians aren’t just searching for the cheapest EV or the model with the longest range but are more interested in specific body styles including SUVs and utes.

Many drivers are waiting for the right models to become available in Australia including the affordable BYD ATTO 3 or the Tesla Model Y SUV which will be arriving on our shores in the coming months.

The current state of our infrastructure for EV charging is also a huge concern for Australians.

The huge distances between major cities are a worry for potential owners who may have anxiety about not finding a charger to continue their journey.

But local motorists only drive on average 38km a day which can easily be covered with today’s EVs which have ranges of 450km and above

NSW has the highest number of charges in the country. In fact, more than half of all charges in Australia are located within NSW.