The latest new car sales data has been released by FCAI and reveals an important milestone.
For the first time, in the month of March 2023, new car sales of all-electric vehicles exceeded the amount of hybrid and PHEV vehicles.
This milestone event is significant in Australia’s march to a future where electric cars can serve the demands of modern Australians and signs the death warrant for hybrids in this country.
Hybrids were a stop-gap technology, they offered lower emissions than traditional ICE vehicles, but in a world where no emissions are the objective, cars with some emissions are demonstrably worse.
Those who buy a hybrid now, are effectively taking a trip to Vegas, rolling the dice on any expectation of future resale values. It is incredibly likely that in the years to come when you go to sell a hybrid, the market demand will have shifted (is already shifting) to demand Evs.
The real issue with hybrids is that to achieve their stated objective of lower emissions and long ranges, they make massive sacrifices that do not stack up against pure electric vehicles.
One of the most beautiful things about the design of the EV is the dramatic simplification in the drivetrain. That simplification means fewer moving parts, and fewer serviceable parts which result in less ongoing and service costs for the customer.
A hybrid vehicle adds complexity, rather than simplifies, as they feature both electric and combustion systems. The componentry necessary for this dual-system means the owner then has to make more compromises, like less storage space.
Other benefits of an EV include not having to visit the petrol station and having the convenience to top-up at home, rather than visiting the service station. This isn’t an option with a hybrid.
- In March 2023, hybrid vehicles accounted for 5,247 new vehicles.
- In March 2023, PHEV accounted for 569 new vehicles.
Combined these two types of hybrid vehicles account for 5,816 new car sales this month.
- In March 2023, Electric vehicles accounted for 6,612 new vehicles.
- 0 new Hydrogen-powered vehicles were sold in Australia during the month of March.
The Tesla Model 3 again led its Medium > $60k vehicle segment, selling 52.6% of the category with 1,640 units.
In another first, the Tesla Model Y actually outsold the Model 3 for the first time in March, with 1,938 units, leading the SUV Medium > $60k space. This accounted for 37% of this segment, with the nearest competitor at just 12.3% (the Audi Q3).
It really is Tesla and everyone else when it comes to EV sales.
The Tesla Model Y was Australia’s 5th highest-selling vehicle of any powertrain and price point. Combined, the Model 3 and Y amassed 3,578 sales, totalling 10,407 for the year-to-date.
By comparison, the Polestar 2 sold just 212 units, Kia EV6 sold just 75, Hyundai Ioniq 6 sold 61, the Porsche Taycan sold 47 and the Audi e-tron GT sold 42.
The Toyota Hilux represented the highest-selling vehicle in Australia, followed by the Ford Ranger and the Isuzu D-Max. Given the top 3 sales spots belong to Utes, there’s never been a better time for automakers to offer an EV Ute option.
Australia does now have its first electric Ute on the market. Unfortunately, LDV has not split out the Ice version of the T60 and the EV version, the LDV T60 EV 4×2, but combined, they sold exactly 9 units. With demand for Utes so high, what explains such a poor performance on the sales chart?
This could be a matter of supply, but more than likely it’s a result of the seriously premium price tag, starting at $92,990 for a ute that doesn’t have great range and is not a ground-up EV platform, meaning its battery and electric motors shoved into a legacy design, something we’ve seen really poor results from previously.
Let’s hope there are more EV Ute’s on the way and someone can nail the combination of utility (towing and payload) along with a decent battery capacity and range, along with a decent price tag (looking at you F150 lightning, Rivian R1t etc).
Overall, Electric Vehicle sales grew this morning by 19.5% on March 2022. With a total of 97,251 new cars being sold for the quarter, 6,612 equates to 6.802% EV overall market share.
“March was a solid month for new car sales given the supply constraints car makers are facing both domestically and internationally,”
FCAI Chief Executive Tony Weber
