Renault 5 E-Tech. Source: Renault
There is plenty to look forward to in 2025 after Australia’s electric vehicle market experienced only modest sales growth in 2024, despite the introduction of 12 new brands and over 20 new battery electric models.
The wave of new battery electric models will continue washing over 2025, with around 40 new models expected, raising the total number by around 50 per cent to about 120 by the end of the year.
This will put Australia on par with European countries like the UK and well ahead of the US which misses out on the Chinese brands.
Next year will see new brands such as China’s GAC and Geely enter the market, and famous US brands like Cadillac re-enter the market. But 2025 will be more about established manufacturers expanding their lineups and fleshing out existing vehicle segments.
Positive market forces such as the long awaited introduction of New Vehicle Efficiency Standards (NVES) from January 1 will play a crucial role in ensuring vehicle manufacturers prioritise the Australian market, incentivising them to sell as many low and zero emissions vehicles as possible.
An ever expanding rollout of public charging infrastructure should help to ease range or charger anxiety, and open up more options for Kerbies. Clarification around V2G standards and certification of the first chargers and vehicles will also encourage those who have been waiting for the innovative technology to arrive.
With these tailwinds and a slew of new models arriving, perhaps 2025 will be the year when EV uptake in Australia crosses the adoption curve chasm from early adopters to the early majority, and really starts to take off.
The introduction of even more affordable EV models will undoubtedly help boost sales, as the upfront cost of electric vehicles is often still quoted as one of the barriers to uptake. People respond quickly if the price is right, as shown by the discounted MG4 outselling Tesla in October 2024 and overtaking YTD sales of both the BYD Seal and Atto 3.
New electric hatchbacks are set to join the MG4, GWM Ora and BYD Dolphin trio next year and expand choices at the affordable end of the market. Leapmotor’s T03 is priced well below these existing models overseas and could be the first EV here with a sub-$30,000 starting price.
Other hatchbacks that may come next year, although not confirmed yet, are the Renault 5 E-Tech pictured at the top of this article, BYD Seagull or Dolphin Mini as it’s known in some markets. GAC may also bring their Aion UT hatchback here after launching the brand with their Aion V SUV around the middle of the year.
In the compact SUV segment, the Hyundai Inster is due in early 2025 with pricing rumoured to start around $40,000.
Kia’s EV3 has also been confirmed for Australia and should arrive within the first half of the year. Both of these compact SUVs have been getting great reviews overseas, especially the Inster for its spacious Tardis-like interior and tiny 3.8 m length.
Debates about tax loopholes and work vehicles aside, Australia’s love of utes and 4WDs is clear, with our top selling vehicles consistently featuring the Toyota Hilux and Ford Ranger. This segment is currently underserved by battery electric options, although manufacturers are starting to sell plug-in hybrid variants and BYD has introduced their Shark.
If you want a fully electric ute, current options are limited to the underwhelming and overpriced LDV eT60 or a $225,000+ Ford F-150 Lightning through Australian EV distributor AusEV.
Joining these options in 2025 will be the Geely Riddara RD6 and LDV eTerron 9, which LDV promises is a “completely different vehicle, inside and out” compared to the eT60.
It will not be cheap, but the Mercedes-Benz G580 with EQ Technology will certainly be capable of going anywhere, powered by 4 electric motors providing over 400 kW of power and 1100 Nm of torque. A motor on each wheel enables unique features like G-Turn, which spins the vehicle on the spot, provided you’re on an unpaved or loose surface.
EV model growth in 2024 was dominated by SUVs and the same will be true in 2025, from the compact Alfa Romeo Junior, Leapmotor B10, Smart #1 / #3 duo, to mid-size options like the Cupra Tavascan, GAC Aion V and Geely EX5. Larger or more luxurious SUVs on the way include the Audi Q6 e-tron, Cadillac Lyriq and the 7-seater Hyundai Ioniq 9.
BYD will expand their popular lineup with the Sealion 7 mid-size SUV, which borrows design elements and the underlying e-platform 3.0 EV architecture from the BYD Seal. Slightly larger than the popular Sealion 6 PHEV, the Sealion 7 is expected to undercut the Tesla Model Y on price and could quickly become BYD’s best selling vehicle.
After numerous delays, the Volkswagen ID.4 and ID.5 have finally been locked in for a March 2025 arrival. The ID.4 SUV and ID.5 coupé SUV siblings share their MEB platform with numerous VW group EVs such as the Cupra Born and Skoda Enyaq. The ID.4 could prove popular in Australia given it is a top seller in Norway, usually in 2nd or 3rd place.
Several performance focused variants will bolster the lineups of existing models next year. Firstly, the Hyundai Ioniq 6 N will join its highly respected Ioniq 5 N sibling, incorporating the same plethora of track focused drive modes into a vehicle that offers more performance and longer driving range due to better aerodynamics.
No doubt Hyundai’s team of N engineers have tweaked and improved these drive modes further for the Ioniq 6 N, and are keen to include some new ones like the e-Handbrake found on the Hyundai RN24 concept.
Other models that will get sportier variants include the Cupra Born VZ, EV9 GT, John Cooper Works versions of both the Mini Cooper and Mini Aceman, Volkswagen ID.Buzz GTX and an all-wheel drive XPeng G6 Performance.
Easily the most anticipated refresh is Tesla’s so-called “Juniper” Model Y. Various leaks have hinted that it will receive many of the upgrades found in the Model 3 refresh such as upgraded seats, rear infotainment screen, redesigned front and rear lights. Full details of the updated Model Y are expected early in 2025, shortly before manufacturing begins.
Updated 2025 versions of the Hyundai Ioniq 5 and Ioniq 6, Kia EV6, Porsche Taycan and Audi e-tron GT are already listed on these manufacturers’ websites, and will be readily available in the new year. The Ford Mustang Mach-E has recently been refreshed overseas and those updates should arrive in Australia soon.
To learn more, please go to our EV Models page, for a full list of current and future models. And to see how they are tracking, also check out our month by month sales data charts.
Tim has 20 years experience in the IT industry including 14 years as a network engineer and site reliability engineer at Google Australia. He is an EV and renewable energy enthusiast who is most passionate about helping people understand and adopt these technologies.
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Good news. With lithium prices holding low and new, better and cheaper battery tech coming, the possibility of EV prices undercutting ICE not just in a few models but across the board is a real possibility, initiating a tipping point where EVs suddenly go from being niche to the default option.
What a glorious moment that will be.
Point not mentioned in the article is that we have federal elections in the first half of next year. If Dutton wins I think the EV friendly policy of the Labour government will not last. And what will happen to Chinese EVs here? They have been slapped with tariffs by the European Union, Canada and the US. Considering the close ties betreft the FF and the LNP I am afraid we will go backwards. See Duttons ridiculous plan for nuclear power.