By David Toscano, Trade Content Editor, carsales.com.au
Is the electric vehicle beginning to seriously resonate with Australian car buyers?
Amidst an Australian summer first besieged by bushfires and then flooding, and marked by intense debate about Australia’s greenhouse emissions and renewable energy strategy, carsales.com.au audience data reveals that searches for Electric Vehicles spiked 634% in January 2020, compared to the same month last year.
Standout models for search growth included the Jaguar I-Pace (+101.1%), Nissan Leaf (+106.5%), Tesla Model X (+30.2%) and Tesla Roadster (+84.3%).
New models not available in January 2019 including the Tesla Model 3 and Mercedes-Benz EQC also delivered incremental search growth.
And with a constant stream of electric vehicle news, releases and reviews anticipated in 2020 – from upstarts such as Rivian and Lucid, to the return of a familiar old face like Hummer with a new electric heart and hyped-new EV releases from legacy automaker giants such as Volkswagen and Mercedes-Benz, further search growth for Electric Vehicles during 2020 seems all but certain.
Improved affordability key to growth
While electric car adoption in Australia has lagged the rest of the world due to concerns around range and charging, a lack of affordable purchase options and minimal purchase subsidies, Electric Vehicle sales still surpassed 6700 units sold in 2019 – from just over 1300 sold in 2018.
Much of the growth of Electric Vehicles in Australia can be attributed to Tesla. The Californian automaker –sold more vehicles in Australia last year than it did monthly during the previous seven, as the popularity of the bourgeoning electric car-maker soars due to the small and cheaper Model 3 sedan.
“Purchasing an Electric Vehicle is no longer only for early technology adopters or the environmentally conscious, it’s an offering that has gone mainstream as concerns around range anxiety begin to subside,” explains Agostino Giramondo, General Manager, New Car and Industry Relations at carsales.
“The good news for consumers is that price parity with petrol cars could occur as soon as 2023, and a greater range of affordable Electric Vehicles will be available to purchase in the coming years.
“Considering that Australians also love to spend on the latest technology, it’s easy to think that Electric Vehicle interest and sales will accelerate in Australia in 2020 and subsequent years.”
“Even the driving characteristics of Electric Vehicles with their instant torque and low centre of gravity, align with the local market’s love of performance vehicles,” says Giramondo.
Following the UK Government’s surprise announcement to ban the sale of new petrol and diesel cars by 2035 – Electric Vehicle searches surged on UK automotive classifieds sites.
“As a similar market to the UK, the same reaction could apply in Australia. The announcement of a UK-style ban, or alternatively, the introduction of purchase incentives similar to – Norway and Germany – would generate more interest and sales,” continued Giramondo.
Industry gears up for electrified future
It’s not just automakers and governments gearing up for change. Energy providers are investing in the ecosystem and technology required to enable the shift to Electric Vehicles.
“As emissions levels and environmental sustainability becomes a bigger priority for national, state and local governments, energy providers are investing in the infrastructure required to support increased Electric Vehicle adoption and usage for Australian car drivers and large scale fleets such as buses, government and delivery,” explains Mark Harland, Electric Vehicle Strategy and Partnership lead at AGL.
“In particular, managing electricity supply relative to demand will become critical to ensure that the adoption of Electric Vehicles in Australia is seamless and convenient, and new innovative technology will play a pivotal role in achieving this.
“For example, AI technology that can predict when Australians are likely to charge their vehicles and their energy requirements, will be key to managing energy supply during peak periods,” says Harland.
Canadian–born Harland, former Executive Director of Marketing at Holden and Regional Director of Marketing & Customer Experience for General Motors International, sees a bright future for electric and sustainable motoring, Down Under.
“In coming years, we can expect to see automakers innovate with how Electric Vehicles can generate their own energy and actually help to increase power supply, such as feeding back into the grid using vehicle to grid (V2G) technology like the current Nissan Leaf,” concludes Harland.