EV sales plunge in November

AUSTRALIA’S curiosity about electric vehicles continues to show signs of waning with a massive 48.4 per cent plunge in EV sales in November compared with the same month last year.

Consumers bought 3969 EVs in November, down 54 per cent on November 2023 according to the VFACTS data from the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries (FCAI) while sales of Tesla and Polestar (which are not recorded by VFACTS), sold 2616 cars, down 49 per cent on November 2023. Cumulative sales show EVs down 48.4 per cent on 2023.

“The Australian experience with EVs is similar to many major markets overseas such as Europe, New Zealand and the US and the results aren’t unexpected,” said the FCAI’s chief executive Tony Weber.

“Car makers are responding to regulatory settings that mandate an increase in the number of zero-emission vehicles by introducing new products.

“However, consumers remain cautious about making the shift to pure EVs and instead are purchasing hybrid or plug-in hybrid (PHEV) vehicles,” he added.

Hybrid and PHEV sales for November were up 34 per cent on the same month in 2023.

Pure EV manufacturers have become the hardest hit during the period of buyer reluctance over EVs. Individually, Tesla sales for November are down 35.5 per cent compared with November 2023, while Polestar is down 59.57 per cent with 76 sales nationally in November.

The Tesla Model Y was the hardest hit in the brand, down 47.54 per cent with 1653 sales for November, while the Polestar 2 was down 81.38 per cent to 35 sales in November.

BYD, which has almost its entire range dedicated to EVs (the exception being the Sealion PHEV SUV), was down 25.6 per cent in sales in November.

Hyundai’s Ioniq 6 EV was down 88.8 per cent for November, selling only 11 units, while Porsche’s Taycan dropped 85.7 per cent with eight sales for the month; the Mercedes-Benz EQE sold three cars (down 84.2 per cent); and only one Audi e-Tron GT sold, down 80 per cent.

The FCAI VFACTS data (which does not include Tesla and Polestar) showed electric passenger car sales for November fell 43 per cent to 1741 units; electric SUV sales were down 60.4 per cent (to 2205 units); and 23 EV light commercials found buyers, the same number as in November 2023.