ELECTRIC vehicle consideration has again dropped significantly for Australian motorists with the latest Carsales EV Consumer Survey report confirming that hybrid vehicles are the emerging choice – alongside petrol.
When asked to predict the car respondents would be driving in 2035, nearly half said they would be driving a petrol vehicle (27 per cent) or a hybrid vehicle (22 per cent) in 10 years.
Only 18 per cent of respondents believe they will be driving an EV by 2030; a steep decline from 40 per cent in a June 2022 survey.
“The good news is that we’ve already seen a drop in new EV prices. Since 2021, the price of petrol vehicles has risen by 20 per cent, while EV prices have decreased by 9 per cent, a drop of more than $3000 on average.
“Competition in the EV market is also increasing and, with up to 12 new Chinese car brands set to enter the country, many of which will focus on EVs, prices will likely drop further in the upcoming years,” he said.
The key findings from the survey are:
- Lifetime EV consideration has once again dropped, with only 30 per cent of respondents having ever considered an EV. This continued drop from 56 per cent (June 2022) likely a reflection of the cost of living crisis and a decrease in disposable income for the average person.
- The loyalty of current EV owners is declining: While 83 per cent of EV owners are likely to buy another EV in the future, this represents a decrease over time from 95 per cent in May 2023.
- However, consideration of hybrid vehicles has significantly increased from May 2024. Both plug-in hybrids (up 24 per cent) and regular hybrids (up 53 per cent) have significantly increased in consideration and are now considered more often than battery electric cars.
When asked to predict the car they’ll drive in 2035, hybrid vehicles (22 per cent) fell just behind petrol vehicles (27 per cent), with Gen Z indexing above average on this expectation (30 per cent). Comparatively, only 18 per cent of respondents believe they will be driving an EV by 2030, a steep decline from 40 per cent in Jun 2022.
- Electric car manufacturer BYD is an emerging leader in the EV space. Not only has BYD climbed significantly in both prompted and unprompted awareness in both the short and long term, for EV considerers, they are the most commonly considered brand by far (51 per cent). Whilst more people overall are aware of Tesla (84 per cent) than BYD (69 per cent), the conversion of awareness to consideration is far higher for BYD (58 per cent) than Tesla (44 per cent).
The survey showed that the role of government subsidies is unclear. It found that more than one-third of all respondents are unaware of government subsidies for electric vehicles and this only marginally improves for those already considering an EV purchase.
“However, two-thirds of EV considerers are more likely to purchase an EV if they had access to a $3000 government rebate,” it said.
The survey also looked at the common EV misconceptions and said most “remain rife.”
“These included concerns about a lack of charging stations being available (50 per cent) despite only 15 per cent knowing specific details about charging locations, and time required to charge (50 per cent) despite advances in charging technology and the ability to charge at home,” it said.
The reasoning behind choosing an EV has also changed. The Carsales report said that performance has risen in importance for EV owners with it now being the most important reason they purchased an electric vehicle.
There has also been a change in vehicle type. It said that despite still being the most likely electric vehicle type to be preferred, SUVs have dropped in popularity (36 per cent compared to 43 per cent in May 2023).
It also found that utes have increased in popularity (15 per cent compared to 4 per cent in May 2023).
The survey also showed which groups of prospective buyers are more likely to purchase an EV.
“Gen X (born 1965-1980) respondents were significantly more likely to have considered buying an EV (38 per cent) compared to average (30 per cent), whilst Gen Z (1997-2012) were least likely (22 per cent).” the survey said.
“Gen Z were significantly more likely to be prevented from purchasing an EV due to environmental impacts of charging (35 per cent) and having a stronger connection to ICE vehicles (63 per cent).
“They were significantly more likely to be unsure about the cost of replacement parts (52 per cent) and maintenance/servicing (56 per cent) compared to average.
“Baby boomers (1946-1964) on the other hand were much more likely to be put off EVs due to popular misconceptions such as time required to charge (58 per cent), too few charging stations available (60 per cent) and understanding the total cost of owning and maintaining an EV (40 per cent).
“Gen Z were significantly more likely to think EVs were too quiet (45 per cent), that they were less safe (33 per cent), how long an EV would last before needing to be replaced (57 per cent) and how good the car looks (33 per cent).
“Baby Boomers were significantly more likely to be concerned about depreciation (53 per cent) and how far you can travel without recharging (62 per cent).
The Carsales Research team conducted the 9th wave of the EV survey to gauge and track car buyers’ awareness and sentiment towards electric vehicles (EVs).
The survey was conducted on the carsales website, with the results being weighted by age to reflect the Australian population.
The survey appeared as a pop-up on the desktop and mobile versions of the carsales website and was completed by 2299 respondents from November 4-11, 2024.
By Neil Dowling
