One key passenger car market in Australia is now almost totally electric

The uptake of electric vehicles in Australia reached new highs in February, with pure battery electric cars making up nearly 10% of the total monthly sales despite the ending of EV rebates in some key states in 2023.

The 9.6 per cent share of new car sales in February was a monthly record for EVs, and raw numbers hit more than 10,000 in a month for the first time. But one key market has stunned observers because it has become almost totally electric, in just a few years.

That segment is the “medium” passenger car market, what was once commonly referred to as the family sedan.

According to the latest data, and noted by Cox Auto’s Mike Costello on LinkedIn, EVs took a stunning 64 per cent of that “medium passenger” market, led by the Tesla Model 3 (3,593 out of 7,003), and BYD Seal, Polestar 2 and BWM i4 also contributing.

Even more remarkably, the sub-section of medium passenger cars priced above $60,000 was 85.5 per cent electric in the month of February, led by the the Model 3, the Polestar 2, the BMW i4, and the Hyundai Ioniq 6.

That’s a remarkable result. As Costello notes, that compares to the large SUV sub-section of the market, where just 3.5 per cent of the 12,301 units sold was an EV. Or in the massive ute market, where Costello notes there was just one EV sold out of 23,765 monthly units.

One segment of the EV models that is – perhaps surprisingly – is yet to see a strong uptick this year are the lower cost EVs. While buyers of more expensive cars have decided that electric is the way to go, that is yet to be demonstrated at scale for the sub $40,000 end of the market.

The three most affordable electric cars on the Australian market include the BYD Dolphin, GWM Ora and MG4. With prices of all three models starting under $40,000, before inroads, these should be ideal cars for many drivers looking at making the switch.

The three models collectively have accounted for 1,644 sales so far in 2024, making up just 10.9% of the overall EV market’s sales.

One reason behind this slower uptake has been limited awareness of these city cars, from individual buyers through to the operators of business fleets.

Given the BYD Dolphin, MG4 and GWM Ora have all achieved a 5-star ANCAP rating, these should be on the business fleet’s top picks for some of the cleanest vehicles on the market.

Another factor going against these affordable models is the market’s obsession with SUVs. In 2023, one in every two cars sold was an SUV. Since these cars don’t fit under that category, they are often ignored for other high-riding options.

Unlike the lack of EV stock back in the pandemic times, the more affordable models don’t appear to have supply issues that have limited sales in 2024. The supply of all three models appears to be healthy with GWM announcing price reductions on its Ora electric hatchback.

BYD has also kept the Dolphin’s price the same as it did back when it was first launched. 

MG on the other hand has slightly increased its prices with the base model which now starts at $39,990 before on-roads.

Back in June last year, MG announced the pricing of its highly anticipated MG4 with the entry-level Excite51 model, starting at $38,990 back then. 

A week later, the Dolphin made a big splash in Queensland by becoming Australia’s most affordable EV, starting at $38,890 for the Dynamic model. Similarly in 2023, GWM announced its Ora Cat and had it priced under $40,000 before on-roads.

Affordable electric hatchbacks are a good option for many drivers looking at making the switch to EVs. These three models are likely to play a bigger role as the business and fleet market becomes aware of their availability, which could come in the form of price cuts in the coming months or bigger advertising campaigns.

See The Driven’s EV Models page for a full list of available EV models in Australia.

EV Model Sales so far in 2024

*The Driven is waiting to hear back from various manufacturers on EV model sales. This article will be updated once they’re received.