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Battery-powered electric vehicle sales plunge by 25% as Australian drivers choose hybrid models
A hybrid logo on a car
Quarterly vehicle sales data reveals EV sales declined by 25% in the three months to 30 September while hybrid sales jumped by 3.3%. Photograph: gyro/Getty Images/iStockphoto
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Australian Automobile Association analysis notes hybrids are exempt from fringe benefits tax until 1 April 2025
Battery-powered electric vehicle sales fell sharply last quarter and may have temporarily peaked as consumers turn to hybrid models that attract tax concessions, according to new analysis.
Quarterly vehicle sales data released by the Australian Automobile Association on Monday reveals petrol-powered cars continued to decline in popularity, with sales falling by 9.16% in the three months to 30 September.
During this same period, electric vehicle sales declined by 25% from 25,353 to 18,990, with market share falling from 8.10% to 6.57% – the lowest since 2022.
According to the AAA, hybrid sales increased from 46,727 to 48,282 – a 3.3% jump to a total 16.70% market share. While plug-in hybrids – which have a battery that can be charged externally to limit reliance on petrol – increased by 56%, taking the market share to 2.5%.
“There have been significant quarterly fluctuations over the past seven quarters, but sales figures over that period confirm a clear trend of growth for hybrids, while battery electric vehicle market share appears to have peaked for now,” the AAA analysis said.
“In the first half of 2023, battery electric vehicles outsold hybrids, but since then hybrids have outsold battery electric vehicles in five consecutive quarters.
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“Hybrids are now outselling battery electric vehicles even in the ACT, which has long been Australia’s strongest market.”
The analysis noted plug-in hybrids were exempt from fringe benefits tax until 1 April 2025, which could save consumers thousands of dollars on new cars under a novated lease.
“Many jurisdictions still offer stamp duty and registration discounts for battery electric vehicles, but government rebates for [these] purchases have now ceased in all states and territories, except Western Australia,” it said.
“That state had the lowest September 2024 quarter decline in battery electric vehicle market share among all jurisdictions (-0.58% compared to -1.53% nationally).”
The analysis found medium SUVs remained the most popular cars on the market with 73,111 sold in the third quarter. Half of these sales were petrol-powered cars, almost a third were hybrids, 8% were plug-in hybrids and another 8% were electric.