The Australian Automobile Association’s (AAA) EV Index indicates Australians are embracing electric vehicles, but significant quarterly fluctuations complicate the annual trend.
The AAA EV Index online data dashboard from Australia’s peak motoring body reveals a rise in new light vehicle sales from 2022 to 2023, except for hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicles (HFCEVs).
The sales of battery electric vehicles (BEVs) increased by 161.05% YoY, reaching 53,807 vehicles. In contrast, new internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles saw a sales increase of 55,313 vehicles, despite a 6.08% increase in this sector.
Meanwhile, hybrid vehicle sales increased by 20.36% YoY, or 16,653 vehicles, compared to the previous year.
Despite a substantial increase in plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV) sales, they still account for less than 1% of new vehicle sales, with HFCEV sales being even lower.
In 2023, the national new vehicle sales in the three main fuel types were 965,132 ICE vehicles, 98,439 hybrid vehicles, and 87,217 BEV vehicles.
According to the AAA, the sales data indicates a consistent growth trend for BEVs and hybrids, while ICEs’ market share is gradually decreasing.
From 2022 to 2023, new vehicle sales penetration decreased by ICE 83.06%, hybrid 8.47%, and BEV 7.51%, respectively.
However, the annual shifts in BEVs outsold hybrids in Q1 2023, but hybrids outsold BEVs in Q3 and Q4 due to quarterly fluctuations.
Similarly, national ICE vehicle sales increased quarterly in 2023, with significant variations across different states.
The second quarter saw the highest BEV sales nationally, followed by the third quarter with the highest hybrid sales, and the fourth quarter with the highest ICE sales.
In 2023, new medium-sized car sales were evenly split between ICE (31.84%), BEV (44.07%), and hybrid vehicles (23.65%), with ICE dominating sales of new small cars (81.71%) and new large cars (70.74%), down from 89.04%).
The AAA noted that the EV Index provides unbiased data on the country’s vehicle technology transition, gathered from various national, state, and territory sources, including information from the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries.
The Index provides an online dashboard for consumers, businesses, and fleet managers to track the trends transforming the national vehicle market, covering all fuel types of light vehicles.
