VANTAGE Geopol CEO and founder Dr Merriden Varrall has framed electrification in the automotive industry as both a matter of energy security and national security at this year’s Australian Automotive Dealer Association Convention and Expo while a panel of her peers shed light on the response to EVs in global markets.

Dr Merriden Varrall, CEO, vantage geopol

Speaking on a panel titled Global Challenges – Dealer Impact hosted by AADA CEO James Voortman, Dr Varrall shared the stage with a nationally diverse cohort comprising National Automobile Dealers Association (NADA) chairman Rob Cochran, Canadian Automobile Dealer Association (CADA) chair Michael Croxon and the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries (FCAI) chief executive Tony Weber. .

AADA CEO James Voortman

Dr Varrall told the panel that EV buyer motivations changed from being environmentally driven to being more concerned with fuel prices and said that electrification is both an energy and national security issue. 

“In the past four years, people have said climate change and environmental drivers are the reasons that they’re buying EVs, but now it’s the same or more people who are concerned about fuel prices, and I think that is part of the story.

Michael Croxon, chair, Canadian Automobile Dealers Association; president & CEO, NewRoads Automotive Group

“Absolutely electrification now needs to be understood as an energy security issue, and that’s certainly how the Australian government understands it, and governments around the world understand it. Because energy security is a matter of national security. 

“For hundreds and hundreds of years, countries have got their wealth and power and influence by being the energy supplier or having an independent and available and reliable energy source. It was coal, it was oil, and now there’s so much instability, there’s so much volatility, and fossil fuels and petrol is such a very disruptable product with the supply chain logistics that it has to go through. 

“Being able to find a source of energy that has so many ways of driving it, you can have hydro, you can have solar, you can have wind. Everyone can do it on shore in their own way, depending on what they’ve got. So it becomes a way to build resilience and self-sufficiency and reduce dependence on anybody else.

“And again, in this non-trusting environment, this competitive environment, that security is absolutely part of the broader national security story. And so we’re going to see whether or not it makes economic sense, governments continuing to push for electrification, not for climate change reasons, perhaps, but for that national security reason,” she said.

Australia is heavily reliant on imported fuel. In the 2023-24 financial year, 79 per cent of Australia’s refined petroleum products came from overseas according to the Australian Energy Statistics – Update Report 2025. 

Despite the rapid rise of electrified vehicle sales, Australia’s automotive industry is still largely fossil fuel-powered. 

According to the Australian Automobile Association’s Electric Vehicle Index, internal combustion-powered models have still made up 57 per cent of new vehicle sales in Australia in 2026 as of the end of Q2.

Certain market segments have seen a considerable electrified vehicle uptake. So far this year, BEV, PHEV and HEV powered vehicles have made up over 70 per cent of new vehicle sales in the medium SUV segment.

However, electrified vehicle sales in the van and ute spaces continue to lag behind, making up a little under 11 per cent of sales locally.

Tony Weber, chief executive, Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries

Mr Weber says that while Australian car buyer habits are more electric vehicle-inclusive than ever before – potentially indicative of structural change in the market – the rapid growth of EV sales could, at least partially, be a blip reaction to the Iran War while pointing to a number of challenges still facing battery electric vehicles in Australia. 

“When I think back to February when we released January’s data … VFACTS showed that EVs were at 8.4 percent. I thought, ‘well, there’s been no growth in three years. I just don’t know how we’re ever going to address this issue because we need to sell EVs to meet the NVES targets’.

“Then the Middle East crisis has come, and five months later, EVs are going up 15 percentage points. They’re now at 23.4. I think part of that is structural, and I put this in my media release with VFACTS last month. I think there are many Australians who go out, buy an EV, have a very positive experience, and will never go back.” 

“Having said that, part of this might be just a blip and a reaction to (the Iran War)”.

Mr Weber added: “I think there’s a few key issues here. One is that the recharging network needs to be widespread.” 

“I think the other challenge is that if you look at our EV sales. While they’re quite impressive, 80 per cent of those are in two segments of the market. We have 20 segments. The technology, the chemistry, just doesn’t really help in certain segments, and that’s a huge issue.

“So I think there are some key issues, and the problem for dealers and OEMs is that some of the big issues, particularly public charging, is downstream of us. And whilst I think EV charging will come very quickly, where it’s commercially viable to do so, there are many areas in Australia where it’s not commercially viable to do so.” 

“It’s a classic market failure, and governments need to step up to the plate. And I think that’s a real concern for us.”

Like Australia, Canada is seeing a “gradual adoption” of EVs according to Mr Croxon. However, the CADA chair also pointed out environmental challenges, such as extreme cold weather, that limit this uptake in the Canadian market.

“…take what you say in terms of range and go to the Canadian prairies where it’s minus 40 degrees in February. Your pickup truck’s not going too far on a battery when it’s minus 40 degrees. Never mind the fact that the next town is 800 kilometres away,” he said.

“I think there’s a gradual adoption. We’re seeing an increased adoption with the incentives, an increased adoption with the price of petrol these days. And you know, who’s kidding who? Once you drive (an EV), and if it makes sense for you, in terms of whether you’ve got a charger in your garage, there’s no going back because they’re very impressive.”

Rob Cochran, 2026 chair, National Automobile Dealers Association

According to Mr Cochran, while EV demand has slowed in the United States as federal incentives and strict vehicle emissions regulations have been dialled back, the market is still responding to hybrid and plug-in hybrid vehicles.

“The market is purely driven (by) demand, and the U.S. is full of people that value their personal freedoms and what type of vehicle they want. They don’t want to be dictated on ‘you’re telling me I have to get this.’ There’s a whole lot of resistance that comes when government gets involved to that degree,” Mr Cochran said. 

“The EVs have slowed. The hybrid market is very, very strong, and as fuel prices have gone up, EVs have come back a bit. But particularly the hybrid model (is popular), and you’re seeing the manufacturers within the US adapt to that market change.

“(The manufacturers have) discontinued some of the (future) EV (products), and they’ve taken big losses. And you’re seeing them reinvest in hybrids and plug-in hybrids because that’s what the customer is asking (for),” Mr Cochran said.