A comprehensive new analysis of electric vehicles in Australia suggests half of all new cars on the road could be electric by 2035. 

The Electric Vehicle Uptake: Modelling a Global Phenomenon report from the government’s Bureau of Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Economies looked at the uptake of electric vehicles across 22 countries. Overall trends suggest sales currently vary greatly between nations based on legislation but are expected to grow rapidly in the coming years.

The electric vehicle share of new car sales (currently less than 1%) is expected to reach 8% by 2025 before jumping up to 27% by 2030. As prices of the technology continue to fall electric vehicles are expected to reach 50% of all new car sales by 2035. 

Behyad Jafari, chief executive of Australia’s Electric Vehicle Council, told The Guardian the results suggest a transition to electric vehicles down under is inevitable. 

“As this report shows, the destination for Australia is predetermined. The choice is how much value and benefit we capture in getting there,” Mr Jafari said.

“Globally, there is some $US300bn being invested in the EV sector. Surely Australia should be getting a piece of the action.” 

A primary reason posited by the report for the rise of electric vehicles is the cost of batteries. By 2025, the cost of these batteries are expected to more than halve at the same time as battery capacities continue to increase.

Compared to the other countries studied, Australia’s electric vehicle uptake was relatively slow with significant change unlikely until the technology becomes price competitive.

 

Positive Action

• For more information on electric vehicles and how they compare to combustion vehicles, check out Australia’s Electric Vehicle Council.
• Taking a road trip of your own soon? Have a look at our Tips for better holiday motoring to make sure you are driving sustainably!

 

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Positive Environment News has been compiled using publicly available information. Planet Ark does not take responsibility for the accuracy of the original information and encourages readers to check the references before using this information for their own purposes.