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Australia recorded a record 157,958 electric vehicle sales in the first half of 2026, more than double a year earlier, as EVs reached one in four new car sales and outsold petrol and diesel for the first time.
Australia recorded a record 157,958 electric vehicle sales in the first six months of 2026, more than double the same period a year earlier, according to the Electric Vehicle Council.
That works out to one EV sold every 100 seconds somewhere in the country. Fully battery-electric vehicles accounted for 103,716 of those sales, while the remaining 54,241 were plug-in hybrids. Last month, EVs outsold petrol and diesel cars for the first time ever. EV share of Australia new car market has risen from 10 per cent last year to more than 25 per cent, or one in four new cars sold.
Electric Vehicles Become Mainstream
The figures come from the 10th anniversary edition of the council annual State of Electric Vehicles Report, which shows EVs have become mainstream within a decade. The rapid shift marks a dramatic turnaround for a country long seen as a global laggard in electric vehicle adoption. That lag was driven by limited models, higher sticker prices relative to other markets, and concerns among some motorists about whether batteries could deliver the range and performance needed for the nation vast distances.
EV sales have soared this year as more motorists sought to insulate themselves from sharply rising petrol and diesel prices. The beginning of the conflict with Iran in February and the subsequent disruption to shipping through the Strait of Hormuz has seen fuel prices surge this year. Australian fuel prices have hovered near six-month highs amid the US-Iran peace deal impasse.
At the same time, an influx of lower-cost, predominantly Chinese, brands has introduced models priced close to, and in some cases below, comparable petrol and diesel vehicles. Nearly 200 EV models are now available in 2026, and some are now selling for under 20,000 dollars. A key driver has been the national vehicle efficiency standard, which requires carmakers to supply new vehicles meeting an average per-kilometre emissions target.
Incentives such as the fringe benefit tax exemption have also helped drive uptake. Electric Vehicle Council chief executive Julie Delvecchio said the surge was down to greater vehicle availability, improved affordability and growing awareness that EVs provided one of the best ways to cut the cost of living. Delvecchio said EVs are being taken up as a cost of living measure by households across Australia.
Against the backdrop of extreme fuel volatility this year, more and more Australians are voting with their wallets by switching to an EV, she said. Owning an EV is no longer a luxury reserved for well-heeled inner-city dwellers as electric cars come close to price parity with petrol versions. This year sales boom is being driven by suburban commuters, with the highest EV uptake in Tarneit, about 30 kilometres west of Melbourne.
Tarneit was also the individual postcode with the highest uptake nationally. Aman Gaur, the council head of legal, policy and advocacy, said Tarneit is very much an average Australian suburb with people who have mortgages in the six to seven hundred thousands. He said they rely on their cars, do not have access to three forms of public transport outside their front door, and for them the sensible economic choice is to get into an EV.
Gaur said Australia is well on track to hit the target of 1 million EVs on Australian roads by next year. As of June, there were 612,000 EVs in the national vehicle fleet, and the number of EVs currently on the road is now more than 600,000. The council is pushing for the federal government to extend the efficiency standard beyond 2029. The shift is increasingly reflected in consumer sentiment.
A major survey of more than 42,000 NRMA members released last month found drivers of petrol and diesel vehicles were more anxious about high fuel costs than electric vehicle owners were about charging access. NRMA spokesman Peter Khoury said the sales growth indicated longstanding barriers to EV adoption were evaporating, and 2026 would be remembered as the tipping point. This is not a flash in the pan, he said.
Charging Network Faces Growing Demand
The Australian Capital Territory retained its crown as the nation EV capital, with 44 per cent of new cars registered there being electric. The EV Council report found the number of public charging locations grew to 4,268 across the country, up 235 per cent from its previous count in June 2025.
Charging infrastructure had largely kept pace with growing EV demand, though the report warned the greatest risk is that the pace and quality of charging development fail to keep up with uptake. That would mean too few chargers, queues at busy locations, persistent black spots, unreliable equipment, slow repairs and limited options for people who cannot charge at home.
Charging problems were highly visible, the report added, raising the risk that even a relatively small number of poor experiences could have an outsize effect on public confidence, particularly as more Australians become first-time EV owners. Gaur said Australia does need a coordinated charging plan that will help Australians have confidence that they can get out onto the roads and charge either their car or their truck or their van.
The council is calling for a nationally coordinated road map to guide the charging network rollout. Despite the accelerating uptake of passenger EVs, the transition is happening at a crawl for electric vans and light trucks. Those vehicles still account for less than 1 per cent of their respective markets. Gaur said buses and cars were roaring ahead of electric trucks and vans.
Electric Trucks Face Slow Transition
Delvecchio said every truck that is electric is an upgrade to Australia energy security. We have barely touched the sides on that transition, she said. The report described freight electrification as the biggest unseized opportunity in Australia transition. Per capita, Australia uses more diesel than the US, China and Saudi Arabia.
The biggest user of diesel is the transport and freight sector, which has barely started to electrify. That is not because there are no electric trucks; while still more expensive, there are a growing number of options. China, the undisputed leader on truck electrification, saw monthly sales breach 50 per cent in December 2025 and already appears advanced in meeting its new 2030 target for 40 per cent heavy electric truck sales, the report said.
Most freight operators in Australia are small businesses, running on very tight margins, and according to Gaur, the cost of switching to electric trucks was still prohibitive. Gaur said there are not enough financial incentives to get small mum and dad operators to make the switch to electric, which means Australia is still importing diesel and our economy is still reliant on those imports.
The report called Australia a global laggard when it came to adopting electric trucks, with heavy vehicle rules such as road weight limits complex and notoriously difficult to reform. With almost zero policy support and no dedicated charging infrastructure to speak of, electric trucks are yet to hit even 1 per cent of total truck sales.
This contrasts with European markets and New Zealand, where strong freight electrification policies are moving heavy EVs beyond the early adopter cohort to everyday trucking fleets. While 2026 may well become a turning point for passenger EVs, reaching Australia climate targets will require a revolution in the national fleet. There are about 21 million cars on Australian roads, and EVs make up just 3 per cent compared to internal combustion engine vehicles.
Australia EV Climate Targets
Helen Rowe, the transport lead at Monash University Climateworks Centre, said while the doubling of EV uptake over the last year is great news, Australia needs to maintain this momentum to be on track to reach its climate targets. The EVC report notes that Australia EV uptake is not on track to meet the emission reduction targets of 43 per cent below 2005 levels by 2030, and 62 to 70 per cent by 2035.
The report said that 2035 target requires 5 million battery electric cars on the road by the middle of the next decade, a significant increase in pace from the current trajectory. The report also assessed government EV policies. It found the federal, ACT and NSW governments were top of the class, while South Australia, Queensland, Tasmania and the Northern Territory have gone backwards.
Gaur said Queensland and the Northern Territory are moving back to fossil fuels rather than trying to electrify their transport systems. He said diesel buses will be on Queensland roads until the end of the next decade and will certainly be polluting the air in Brisbane when the Olympics are held. To sustain momentum, the EV Council is calling on governments to expand financial incentives for electric trucks and vans.
It also wants equity-focused support to help lower-income households switch to electric transport. It also seeks a fair federal road-user charge to help make up for lost fuel-excise revenue, with funds delivered into local charging infrastructure. Federal Energy Minister Chris Bowen said Australia August monthly auto sales figures represented a landmark moment. Full EVs totalled 27,078 that month, outpacing petrol-only vehicles at 25,824 for the first time ever.
Australians have seen through the scare campaigns and are voting with their wallets for cars that are cheaper to run, cleaner and reduce their exposure to international petrol price shocks, Bowen said.
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abcnews:One EV sold every 100 seconds as Australia catches up to the worldThis story was compiled and edited by the HeadTopics newsroom and HT AI from the reports above.
Australia EV Market Electric Vehicle Council Charging Infrastructure Petrol Prices Electric Vehicle Sales Australia Electric Vehicle Council Report Fuel Crisis EV Adoption Vehicle Efficiency Standard Australia EV Sales Record Fuel Price Crisis Electric Trucks And Vans Australia EV Sales EV Charging Infrastructure
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