Tens of thousands of Australians started the financial year in a new electric vehicle, as sales charged ahead to record highs, the nation’s peak motoring body says.
Australians bought 29,244 new battery electric vehicles in the three months to June 30, up from 17,901 sales in the March quarter.
It was a 63.37 per cent sales increase, with electric vehicles climbing from 6.29 per cent to 9.31 per cent of all new car sales in the June quarter, according to the Australian Automobile Association.
The increased range of electric vehicles on the market, more affordable models and the growing number of charging options were boosting their appeal, NRMA spokesman Peter Khoury told AAP.
“People are still in the market for new cars and they’ve just got more variety than we’ve ever had before,” he said.
Internal combustion engine vehicles dominated overall sales, with 226,306 units sold, up 9.90 per cent from the March quarter total of 205,911.
But their market share fell slightly from 72.37 per cent to 72.03 per cent.
Total hybrid sales fell slightly, from 47,014 to 46,732, down 0.6 per cent.
Total light vehicle sales were up 10.42 per cent in the June quarter, with the battery electric vehicles market share climbing from 6.29 per cent in the previous quarter to 9.31 per cent in the June quarter.
But the hybrid market share slipped from 16.52 per cent to 14.87 per cent, the lowest share since the start of 2024.
Plug-in hybrid sales also declined 13.19 per cent, falling from 13,711 in the March quarter to 11,902 in the June quarter.
Despite quarterly fluctuations, hybrids have grown strongly over the past two years.
In the first half of 2023, battery electric vehicles outsold hybrids nationally, but since then, hybrids have outsold battery units in eight consecutive quarters.
However, in the June 2025 quarter, hybrids posted their lowest market share since the March quarter in 2024 while continuing to outsell battery electric vehicles.
The sales update comes as momentum builds for a road user charge to fund maintenance as more people switch to electric vehicles and the fuel excise falls.
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