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🇦🇺 Australia /Economy & Trade

Australian EV sales surge, but running costs still a question

From ABC Australia · () English

Translated from English, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

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  • Australia is experiencing a surge in electric vehicle (EV) sales, with EVs and hybrids making up nearly half of new vehicle purchases in the June quarter.
  • EVs now represent 26.7% of the total new vehicle market year-to-date, more than double last year's share.
  • While EVs require annual servicing, they generally need less maintenance than traditional cars, focusing on tires, brakes, suspension, and battery health checks.

Australians are increasingly embracing electric vehicles, with the national EV fleet reaching approximately 650,000. The June quarter saw the largest surge in EV sales ever recorded nationally. Almost half of all new vehicles sold were either electric or hybrid. Year-to-date, EVs constitute 26.7% of the new vehicle market, a significant jump from 12% in the same period last year.

EVs have fewer moving parts than petrol or diesel vehicles and require much less maintenance.

— Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and WaterExplaining the reduced maintenance needs of electric vehicles.

Rising petrol prices earlier this year have driven some consumers towards EVs, with the perception of lower running costs. However, questions remain about the ongoing costs of servicing and repairs. According to the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water, EVs require annual professional servicing to ensure safe operation, though they have fewer moving parts than traditional cars.

EVs don't need oil changes, spark plug replacements or many of the engine-related services associated with petrol or diesel cars.

— Electric Vehicle Council spokespersonDescribing the focus of EV servicing.

Servicing for EVs typically focuses on components like tires, brakes, suspension, cabin filters, battery health, and software updates, rather than engine-related maintenance like oil changes or spark plug replacements. The heavier weight of EVs, with mid-size city cars weighing around 400 kilograms more than their internal combustion engine (ICE) counterparts, means suspension systems and tires work harder. Specialized, heavily constructed tires are common, and components like battery filters, which cool the battery, are exclusive to EVs and hybrids and may require replacement.

Any component in the suspension system is working harder.

— Clint FlowerAutomotive teacher at TAFE NSW, discussing the impact of EV weight on components.

Despite these considerations, New South Wales government fact sheets indicate that EV servicing costs are typically 40% cheaper than for equivalent ICE vehicles. This is largely due to the reduced number of moving parts in EVs compared to ICE vehicles.

A lot of EVs are now running a battery filter, and the battery filter is just an additional part that might need changing.

— Clint FlowerIdentifying a specific maintenance component unique to EVs and hybrids.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by ABC Australia in English. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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