The MG ZS EV and the Porsche Taycan – respectively the most affordable and most expensive new electric cars available in Australia – have made a splash in the local market.
Porsche has sold 51 Taycans, which start at $191,000 before on-roads, and for which deliveries to customers commenced in late February, but it is the $43,990 driveway MG ZS EV that has claimed the lion’s share of sales so far in 2021, according to Vfacts and MG.
The Chinese-owned brand sold 268 all-electric version of its ZS compact SUV in 2021 to date after it debuted in late 2020, accounting for almost half the 558 all-electric cars sold in total, excluding Tesla which does not report local sales figures to Vfacts.
However, the first Tesla ships for 2021 have only arrived in recent weeks, which means Tesla local sales figures for 2021 to date would be negligible and would mainly include vehicles that were not delivered by the end of December (if any).
Electric car sales, in general, doubled in February year-on-year but the numbers remain small compared to other segments as the sector continues to battle a hostile attitude from both state and federal government.
Meanwhile, hydrogen fuel cell vehicles made it onto the Vfacts list for the first time. These vehicles consist of 20 Hyundai Nexo FCEVs (fuel cell electric vehicles) which are to be trialled in the ACT government fleet as part of a wind farm deal.
Disturbingly, diesel sales – which are the main culprit for transport-related PM2.5 particulate matter – are back on the up, with a 17.6% increase equating to an additional 7,720 more sold year-to-date than in 2020, officially ending a long decline in fossil-fuel vehicle sales.
Bridie Schmidt is associate editor for The Driven, sister site of Renew Economy. She has been writing about electric vehicles since 2018, and has a keen interest in the role that zero-emissions transport has to play in sustainability. She has participated in podcasts such as Download This Show with Marc Fennell and Shirtloads of Science with Karl Kruszelnicki and is co-organiser of the Northern Rivers Electric Vehicle Forum. Bridie also owns a Tesla Model Y and has it available for hire on evee.com.au.