Australia has reached the tipping point for electric car adoption after sales of the vehicles more than doubled in one year and public charger locations surged by 70 per cent.
Create a free account to read this article
or signup to continue reading
But experts say the low-emission transport technology has the potential to double in popularity again during 2024, bringing Australia closer to progress made overseas.
The prediction comes after the federal energy department released data on Saturday showing Australia now had almost 800 fast and ultra-fast charging locations, with more installed in the last 18 months than in the nine previous years.
There are now 2000 public charging plugs around Australia to service an estimated 173,000 electric vehicles.
Energy Minister Chris Bowen says the growth in charging infrastructure has been unprecedented, rising from 464 fast-charging locations last year and 317 in 2021.
"There's been a 70 per cent increase in EV charging locations this year alone, helping address the needs of Aussie drivers in regional and suburban communities and reducing wait times for tens of thousands of new EV drivers," Mr Bowen said on Friday.
"More and more households and businesses are saving thousands of dollars on the up-front running costs of their vehicles."
Additional charging locations included an expansion of Australia's longest charging network in Western Australia and the nation's biggest charging station, installed in Albury, NSW, by Tesla.
Electric Vehicle Council chief executive Behyad Jafari said additional charging options had been a factor in convincing drivers to invest in an electric car this year, as well as the benefit of saving money on the growing cost of fuel.
"We've hit an inflection pointing Australia where people are realising that there are more chargers being built, there are enough for people to get behind the wheel and be comfortable getting around," he said.
"I'm going to be quite excited to see where we are by the end of 2024 because I think we're going to be legs ahead of where we are now."
Figures from the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries show new electric car sales almost tripled between January and November, growing from more than 28,000 in 2022 to more than 80,000 in 2023.
But Mr Jafari said it was possible for Australia to double EV sales again in the coming year, with electric cars making up 8.4 per cent of new vehicle purchases locally while global EV adoption sat at 18 per cent.
"For each of the past three years, electric vehicle sales have doubled in Australia," he said.
"It might end up short of an another doubling but that's something that we should aim for and it's not overly ambitious for us."
Another 1000 fast-charging locations are expected to be built in Australia over the next three years after investments by federal, state and territory governments, including the NRMA's plans for chargers along national highways and the expansion of Queensland's Electric Super Highway.
Australian Associated Press
