Australia EV Sales Tank As Industry Suggests Mandates Like Europe's Are Needed to Force Them on Public

Unlike Europe, which is much more dense, Australia has a tremendous amount of rural area, and, therefore, car buyers want dependable cars that can be driven relatively longer distances without having to stop for 45-minute recharges. Australia’s driving environment is much more similar to ours in America, and, for that reason, the following news from The Driven, an EV fan media outlet, is extremely revealing (emphasis added):

After a very slow start to EV sales in January 2025, the Australian EV market has shown another month of stagnant sales, with electric vehicles making up just 5.9 per cent of the country’s total new car market, which was also subdued.

This comes in after the launch and delivery of various well-priced EV newcomers to the market as well as a growth in PHEV sales.

The latest data from the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries (FCAI) (released on Wednesday) and the Electric Vehicle Council (EVC – released on Tuesday) shows that a total of 5,684 full battery electric vehicles were sold in Australia in February, compared to 10,111 in the same month last year…

A total of 96,710 new vehicles were sold in Australia during the month, itself a fall of nearly 10 per cent from the same month a year ago. Plug-in hybrids surged nearly fivefold to 4,871, while mild hybrids jumped 34 percent to 15,348.

A year ago, EVs made up 9.6% of the market, highlighting a significant decline in 2025…

EV sales over the first two months of 2024 were just over 15,000 and 2025 shows just 9,516 vehicles making it onto the road.

Some of this slack has been taken up by the rise in plug in hybrids, such as the BYD Sealion 6 and the Shark 6 ute which shared over 2,886 sales collectively. The Shark 6 ute sales totalled 2,026 sales, were presented for the first time in February and also include the deliveries the company made in January, but it meant it was the third best selling ute in Australia

On the other hand, EV sales in markets within Europe appear to be on the rise, hinting strong transport emission reduction policy and targets are doing what they are supposed to do. In Australia, the FCAI used the data to once again criticise local vehicle emissions targets...

FCAI CEO Tony Weber again took the opportunity to attack the NVES: “We are now two months into the Government’s New Vehicle Efficiency Standard, and while the supply of battery electric vehicles has risen dramatically, consumer demand has fallen by 37 per cent this year compared with the first two months of 2024,” he said in a statement.

“We knew the supply of EVs would increase and there are now 88 models supplied to the Australian market. However, our grave concern has always been the rate of EV adoption and what assumptions the Government had made in its modeling around consumer demand for EVs in the NVES. This modeling remains secret.

“The easy part is to set aspirational targets but without consumers demanding EVs, the NVES will not succeed. It is time for the Government to consider the realities faced by consumers.”

With the overall EV market seeing a downward trend in February, it’s becoming clear that much more is needed to kickstart growth in EV adoption.

So, this is what we learn:

1. EV sales are tanking.

2. The EV target market prefers hybrids.

3. Europe only achieves sales by forcing customers into EVs they don't want.

4. The Australian EV industry wants its government to go full commie, like Europe.

The EV boom is bursting big-time.

#EVs #Australia #Sales #Hybrids

B