While barriers to the uptake of electric vehicles (EVs) haven’t gone away, a new report from the Electric Vehicle Council – State of Electric Vehicles March 2022 – highlights the speed of growth we can expect from the EV market in the next few years. We share three key findings from their research that show how changes in demand, policy and infrastructure are driving stronger uptake in EVs for personal and commercial use. Here’s a useful overview of the latest research from the EV council.
1. Demand for EVs is rising fast
According to the report, EV sales increased three-fold in 2021, with a total of 20,665 plug-in EVs sold. This is a big rise in take up in spite of the ongoing supply challenges with the report making it clear that vehicle supply is likely to be a greater obstacle to sales growth than demand.
“Model availability in Australia continues to be restricted by supply constraints. Limited access to models that are available in international markets is restricting choice for Australian consumers across all vehicle segments.”
Electric Vehicles Council, State of Electric Vehicles, April 2022.
2. Charging infrastructure is getting a boost
In recent years, limits on vehicle supply and the number of charging locations available in Australia have both been major constraints on growth for consumer uptake of EVs. Charging infrastructure is set to take a big leap forward during the next five years with state and federal government committed to funding more than double the number of fast charging locations throughout Australia – from 291 to more than 700.
NSW is leading the way on charging locations, with plans to ensure fast charging is available every 100km along regional routes, every 5km in residential areas with limited off-street parking, and every 5km along major commuter corridors in Sydney.
3. Incentives are working to drive demand
The report suggests that incentives are working when it comes to driving consumer demand for EVs. ACT were the only state to have incentives for EV purchase in place throughout the year, resulting in EV sales making up 5% of total passenger vehicle sales. This compares with around 2% for the rest of Australia. It will be interesting to see how new incentives introduced by states and territories late last year will impact EV sales figures in 2022.
THE OUTLOOK FOR EV POLICY
From stimulating demand with incentives to funding charging bays, government policy has a big role to play in supporting transition to EVs. With the federal government and all states committed to net zero emissions by 2050 – 2030 for Tasmania – we can expect to see policies become more supportive of EV take up in the near future. The report also flags the implications the timeline to net zero has for vehicle replacement and estimates that Australia has less than 15 years to shift all car sales to electric to meet the 2050 deadline.
Just as governments can’t expect to make this happen overnight, fleet managers will need to start exploring their role in the switch to EVs before change is forced upon them by policy. Most fleet managers are not currently being pressured to action sustainability initiatives, but this is likely to change in the near future given the increasing number of organisations committing to corporate social responsibility (CSR) targets.
The 2022 Fleet Insights Research by the Australasian Fleet Management Association and ACA Research tells us that 41% of organisations are ‘quite well’ or ‘very well’ prepared for the impact of EVs. And 64% of organisations expect that EVs will become mainstream in business fleets by 2030 as opposed to 19% forecasting this not to be the case until 2050 and beyond.
WE GO THE EXTRA MILE TO SUPPORT A SUSTAINABLE FUTURE
For most fleets, the transition to EVs will be a marathon and not a sprint. In our discussion guide we share some ideas and a roadmap on how fleet managers might get moving. If you’re considering how EVs could work for your organisation, this guide gives you a great starting point in formulating your strategy and determining how your fleet can successfully evolve to a greener future.
For more about how we can help your fleet perform at its best, get in touch today.
Other resources
EV transition Q&A with Adam Morrison, Interleasing Managing Director
