Electric vehicle loans have more than tripled over the past year, according to Australia’s largest bank, as businesses seek to do more to reduce transport emissions.
The Commonwealth Bank revealed the record increase on Friday, with data also showing finance for petrol cars, heavy trucks, and trailers had increased by a smaller percentage as vehicle supply issues improved.
The loan data came just weeks after figures showed Australians had purchased more electric vehicles in the first half of the year than throughout all of 2022, and the low-emission transport technology represented more than eight per cent of new car sales.
Commonwealth Bank asset finance general manager Chris Moldrich said data proved businesses were growing increasingly serious about replacing petrol and diesel fleets with hybrid and electric alternatives.
The figures revealed electric vehicle loans had soared by 235 per cent during the last financial year, he said, making them the “fastest growing vehicle type” for the bank.
“There is an opportunity for businesses to play an outsize role in moving to electric transport, so a lot of what I’m seeing is businesses wanting to do their part,” Moldrich said.
“They have a greater role in moving to electric and can do so at a greater rate than consumers.”
In addition to cars, Moldrich said more businesses were also investigating electrifying larger vehicles to make more significant emission cuts.
“Businesses are talking about going electric not just for passenger vehicles but for some mid-size trucks, and that has certainly increased since I joined the business 18 months ago,” he said.
The rise in EV loans followed the Commonwealth Bank’s launch of an discounted rate for electric and hydrogen vehicles and machinery in April this year.
Loans for standards cars also grew by 30 per cent over the last financial year, the data showed, while heavy truck loans were up 27 per cent, and trailers increased by 26 per cent following supply issues and delays in upgrading during the pandemic.
The loan data follows an Electric Vehicle Council report that showed the popularity of low-emission vehicles more than doubled during 2023 to make up 8.4 per cent of all new vehicles.
The State of Electric Vehicles July 2023 study also showed about 130,000 electric cars were currently on roads in Australia, with almost 180,000 expected by the end of the year.
AAP