State of EVs Highlights 2025

The State of EVs Highlights document produced by the Electric Vehicle Council provided some interesting trends in car sales in Australia.

 

For the first six months of 2025, Australians bought 72,758 EVs, up 24% from the corresponding period last year. EVs account for 12.1% of all new car sales with June being the strongest month.

 

Australia's EV fleet is now at 370,000 on the road compared to 180,000 two years ago.

 

Charging infrastructure has also grown with 1,272 fast chargers and 800 high powered chargers (up 20% and 22% respectively).

 

The report comments on PHEV and are calling it the year of the PHEV with over 25,000 units sold in the first six months. Despite showing why PHEVs are important, they fail to recognise owner behaviour and the pollution emitted by PHEVs. 

 

A recent study showed that PHEVs are not as clean as they once thought, with similar emissions to an ICE vehicle. Another report shows they are about 19% cleaner than an ICE, but even that doesn't factor in the other disadvantages such as regular servicing and visiting the petrol station. You can't fill up all the time from home!

 

Another big factor is driver behaviour. The estimates provided in the past were based on the assumption drivers would plug in their PHEV and keep the battery charged. But real life data is showing this isn't the case, with many PHEV owners simply not charging. This places a greater demand on the petrol engine which has to work to push around that extra weight from the battery. Admittedly the statistics are based on the UK, and PHEV manufacturers are claiming more than 80% of Australian PHEV owners plug in. Not sure where they are getting their Hybrid and PHEV data from but Toyota and Mitsubishi may have their fingerprints all over it.

 

https://www.independent.co.uk/bulletin/news/plug-in-hybrid-pollution-petrol-b2846517.html

 

https://www.autoweek.com/news/a69061081/plug-in-hybrids-compromise/

 

The Tesla Model Y was still the most popular BEV selling over 10,000 units in the six months. Snapping at the heels of the MY is the BYD Shark PHEV which came in second.

 

Used EV prices have also started to stabilise, with car dealerships now purchasing more used BEVs from auction houses such as Pickles. It is likely greater access to real time battery degradation data by dealers has resulted in a higher confidence level. This is good news for the used car segment and hopefully used car prices may pick up, meaning better trade-in deals for EV owners.

 

I'll finish off this summary of the report by declaring my dislike for PHEVs and Hybrids. Data has shown they are more likely to catch on fire than an ICE (yes, that old chestnut), are not clean by any means (estimates of 19% cleaner than an ICE and only if you remember to Plug In), require servicing in the engine (fuel does go off when unused for a period of time so you need to keep filling up), the range on electric is poor (50-100 KMS in most cases) and while the report says owners are getting the best of both worlds, I believe the opposite is true - they are getting the worst of both.

 

PHEVs are heavier because of the battery so running off petrol means it has to work harder to pull the car along. During manufacturing, the emissions are produced from the battery construction and then when used there are direct tailpipe emissions. PHEVs never stop polluting. Finally, the upfront cost is more, and efficiency is down as PHEVs try to juggle two separate and different technologies, resulting in not the best tech on either side. After all, it is a petrol car first and foremost with an electric engine booster.

 

PHEVs are purchased by many who don't have the confidence to take the BEV plunge, believing all the myths and propaganda released by main stream media and social media platforms. There are instances where a PHEV may be warranted - towing heavy loads over a long distance. Until we get a longer range BEV that can tow a load with a range while towing of over 500 KMS, we are limited to PHEVs for this task. However, in a majority of cases, a BEV would suit most Australians for every day running.

 

Fingers crossed we will see new battery technology with greater ranges and larger BEVs capable of handling those towing tasks in Australia soon.

 

For a copy of the Electric Vehicle Council's report, visit https://electricvehiclecouncil.com.au/

 

Ross Hetherington

President | Tesla Owners Club of Australia