In as little as 12 months, the percentage of EVs as a total of all new vehicles sold each month has risen from 1.1% to 8%. This has been driven by consumer demand as Fleet Managers (which are responsible for 50% of new vehicle purchases each year) are yet to unleash their electric vehicle transition plans.
There are many factors that have contributed to this significant shift in buyer preferences, but the one thing we can single out is the new Labour Federal government and their position to support the decarbonisation of transport in Australia.
In total, there were 82,137 new vehicles delivered during April 2023, which represents a 1.3% increase on the same period in 2022.
“Electric vehicles accounted for 8% of sales in April. This is well up from 1.1% compared with April 2022. If you take all forms of electrification, that number has increased from 9.5% to 15.4%, and we know that this number would have been larger had the industry not faced global supply challenges,” FCAI Chief Executive Tony Weber said.
“It is worth noting that five out of the top ten models sold in April offer some form of electrification.”
SUVs and light commercial vehicles accounted for 76.8% of sales in April. Passenger vehicles accounted for 18.5 per cent, and heavy commercial 4.7%.
Government and Business fleet sales increased by 8.1% and 2.9% respectively. Rental sales recorded a decline of 11.4%.
Year to date, sales of vehicles sourced from China have increased 68.5% with 13,426 vehicles sold in April. Japan remains Australia’s largest source of vehicles (22,304). Thailand is our second largest (15,886) and Korea fourth (12,952).
Sales in the ACT increased by 5% compared to the same month last year, with 1,261 vehicles sold; Queensland, 4.4 per cent (18,188); Victoria, 4.2 per cent (22,226); and Western Australia, 5.2 per cent (8,303).
Sales in New South Wales decreased by 1.5% (25,040); Northern Territory, 10.3% (761); and Tasmania, 13.3% (1,271).
Toyota led the market with 12,029 vehicles, then Mazda (6,926), Kia (6,200), Hyundai (5,732) and Ford (5,047).
The top selling models in April were:
- Ford Ranger (3,567)
- Toyota Hi-Lux (3,526)
- Toyota RAV4 (2,198)
- Tesla Model Y (2095)
- Hyundai i30 (2,029)
