Range anxiety and cost remain widespread barriers to EV uptake in regional areas, according to a new survey by a leading motoring body.
The RACV’s My Country Road, that surveyed 7000 drivers from regional Victoria, found that while more than a third have considered buying an EV, less than one percent currently own one.
The results showed 36 per cent of participants have considered buying an EV but only 0.7 per cent of the survey participants are current EV owners.
The results come at a time of global cooling in the first wave of EV enthusiasm with sales in the US and China down and many car manufacturers readjusting uptake targets.
In Australia the June figures from the Federal Chamber of Automotive show new EV sales dropped slightly to 8.0 per cent (from 8.8 per cent in May this year).
But total sales for EVs so far in 2024 are 16.5 per cent up on 2023 with 50,219 new EVs on Australian roads.
The FCAI is optimistic that 2024 will reach a new milestone of 100,000 new EVs, FCAI CEO Tony Webber said
“As customers increasingly turn to electric vehicles, it is critical that governments focus on the delivery of widespread recharging capability across Australia.”
Last month Webber highlighted the investment made by the NSW government in its budget toward charging infrastructure including $149.0 million to co-fund EV fast chargers, $20.0 million to co-fund EV destination chargers at regional tourist spots and $10.0 million to co-fund EV kerbside chargers in metropolitan areas
“The NSW Government’s significant investment in electric vehicle infrastructure is a decisive step towards wide-spread adoption of the zero-emissions technology,” Weber said.
“By supporting the development of fast chargers, local government and business fleets, and EV infrastructure in key areas, this budget addresses crucial barriers to EV adoption.”
On country
RACV Head of Policy James Williams said 2024 My Country Road survey was a valuable way to monitor the issues that mattered to drivers and advocate with government for what was needed.
“The top two reasons participants gave for deciding not to drive an EV were that they are currently too expensive to purchase and the limited battery range,” Williams said.
“Regional Victorians have a preference for more charging stations at service stations and rest stops.”
This comes as petrol/electric hybrids with their longer range have risen in popularity to 14.4 per cent of all new vehicles sales, almost double last year’s June figure.
The Australian Automotive Dealer Association Automotive Insights Report into used cars for the first half of 2024 show a similar trend to the new car market.
The used cars listed for sale in the first six months of the year, represented a 25 per cent increase compared to the same time last year, but where the increased supply has slightly lowered values, according to AADA CEO James Voortman.
“Sales of used hybrids and EVs were strong for the first half of 2024 with both categories growing by around 80 per cent,” Voortman said.
“While both categories experienced a reduction in value, one-year-old hybrids still command a 3.5 per cent higher sale price compared to their original retail price, while EVs have depreciated by -17% in value.”
The introduction of the NVES in 2025 is likely to see the introduction of new models and makes of EVs, particularly the competition to introduce an affordable EV model, currently being waged between Tesla and other Chinese EV makers.
Car makers like Volvo, Volkswagen and Mercedes Benz who had plans to be EV only manufacturers by 2030 are also now looking at the possibility of incorporating hybrids into their mix, according to media reports.