For the first time in Australia, a territory has reached a milestone where plug-in vehicles outsold traditional petrol and diesel cars. The Australian Capital Territory recorded that 55 percent of all new car registrations in June were either battery-electric vehicles or plug-in hybrids — a figure that edges out internal combustion engine cars for the first time in any state or territory.
Nationally, the shift toward electrified transport is accelerating but remains uneven. Across Australia, almost one in every four new cars sold in June was a full battery-electric vehicle, while plug-in hybrids accounted for about 12 percent of new registrations. Combined, that represents roughly 37 percent of the new car market for the month, according to data from the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries and the Electric Vehicle Council.
How the ACT pulled ahead on electric vehicle uptake
The ACT has been an outlier on EV adoption for years, thanks largely to a package of government incentives that date back to 2015. Those include stamp duty waivers, reduced registration fees, zero-interest loans, and access to transit lanes regardless of passenger count. Those perks made the territory the most affordable place in the country to own an electric car.
According to the territory’s Zero Emissions Vehicle Strategy Implementation initiative, 43 percent of June’s new registrations were full battery-electric, and an additional 12 percent were plug-in hybrids. The raw numbers are modest — the ACT saw just 2,169 new vehicle sales of all types in June. By comparison, Australians bought just over 140,000 new cars nationally in the same month.
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Still, the territory’s per-capita adoption rate is striking. By the end of June, more than 17,000 registered electric vehicles were on ACT roads, representing about five percent of all vehicles in the territory. That is double the national average of roughly two percent, based on the most recent data from the Electric Vehicle Council.
It is worth asking whether the ACT’s lead can hold as other states ramp up their own incentives and as national charging infrastructure improves. The territory’s small population and concentrated urban layout make it easier to build charging networks and enforce policy. Replicating that success in larger, more spread-out states like New South Wales or Queensland would require a different set of tactics — and possibly more time.
The national combined share of 37 percent for EVs and plug-in hybrids is a significant jump from just a few years ago. Full battery-electric cars made up the majority of those sales, while plug-in hybrids — which still rely on gasoline for longer trips — accounted for a smaller slice. The ACT’s experience, however, may offer clues for broader adoption. For example, Geely EX2 pricing has become a talking point for budget-conscious buyers looking at affordable electric options.
