The holiday season is upon us, and within days many of us will be sitting around with family or friends discussing the hot topics of 2021. And what car to buy in 2022. And if it’s finally the time to buy an electric car.
Covid19 and weather events aside, it has been a big year for electric vehicles in Australia. By the end of the year, around 20,000 new electric vehicles will have been delivered to customers – the most to date and almost three times as many in 2020.
This year has seen rebates and other financial incentives for buying electric vehicles introduced for the first time by some states, while Victoria made the highly dubious choice of becoming the first jurisdiction in the world to actually tax drivers for choosing to reduce their personal transport emissions.
In part thanks to increasing acceptance of electric cars (and despite being virtually ignored in the federal government’s Future Fuel Strategy), 2022 will see more models enter the local market.
You can check out what models are expected to arrive here: EV calendar 2022: Which electric vehicles are coming … and which are not
You might be considering buying an electric car yourself, but still have some questions about how to charge it, or simply how to afford it, before making the switch.
And while it’s encouraging to see the atmosphere is warming up for electric vehicles, so to speak, this undoubtedly will go hand in hand with many intense discussions about EVs around the dinner table this summer that could require dousing with some myth-busting facts.
So it’s only fitting that we arm you with our best articles from 2021 to help you do just that:
- The top ten electric vehicle myths that need to be debunked
- Explainer: Emissions from electric vehicles are lower than petrol cars in Australia
And here are some links to help you navigate EV purchase incentives, and other ways to drive down cost:
- Explainer: Six ways to drive down the up-front cost of buying an EV
- Explainer: Which Australian states offer the best incentives to buy EVs?
Before you get your first electric vehicle, you might like these tips on ownership:
- Electric Cars 101: What you should know before you buy an EV
- Range anxiety? Nine electric car hacks you need to know
And finally, some recent reviews on some new EVs that have landed in Australia in 2021:
- Ioniq 5 review: Mobile power station, home office and camping car all in one
- Ioniq 5 first impressions: An electric Tardis that can power your tools
- Our Tesla Model 3 has done 66,000kms in 2 years, and we’ve paid zero for “fuel”. But not for long
- MG ZS EV: Australia’s cheapest and cheerful electric compact SUV
- Polestar 2 review: Breaking through the ICE with a chilled attitude
- Polestar 2 review: It drives as well as a Model 3, and it’s about the same price
- Mazda MX-30 road test: A triumph of style over efficiency
- Kia e-Niro Review: An electric compact SUV that can fit into our lifestyle
- Kia e-Niro test drive: An enjoyable everyday EV, but not an everyday price
- Living with an electric Livewire, and the Harley sounds of silence
- Mercedes EQA 250 review: An electric SUV tailored for the city
- Porsche Taycan review: Old school elegance meets high performance power
- Porsche Taycan road trip: In the laps of the electric gods
- Nissan Leaf e+ review: Longer range, and back-up power for home
- Mini Electric review: Price parity for EV version of a family favourite
If you want to dig deeper, remember you can check out our EV models pages and FAQs. Failing all else, you might like to know that by recycling all the beer bottles sitting around the Christmas lunch table, you could drive your electric vehicle for free for a month.
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.