Electric car sales climb as Canberra leads Australia in sales

Further highlighting the ACT's appetite for change, it was the only jurisdiction in the country where sales of internal combustion powered cars fell the June quarter, albeit a small 2.4 per cent decline.

Figures compiled by the Australian Automobile Association show 976 electric vehicles were sold in the ACT in the June quarter, representing 21.3 per cent of all car sales, and as at the end of January almost one in every 100 cars on the national capital's roads were EV.

EVs are also gaining traction in Victorian and NSW where they comprised 9.7 per cent and 8.7 per cent of June quarter sales respectively, though they remain a relative rarity on those states' roads, accounting for just around 0.4 per cent of all light vehicle registrations.

Overall, Australia is increasingly adopting battery electric vehicles, though from a low base.

The AAA data show national sales of electric vehicles jumped almost 50 per cent in the June quarter to 25,696 cars - more than 8.6 per cent of all light vehicles sold.

Hybrids are also gaining in popularity.

Hybrid sales climbed almost 38 per cent in the three months to the end of June to reach 22,212 vehicles (7.5 per cent of all sales).

In the ACT, sales of hybrids rose more than 40 per cent, though they are overshadowed in popularity by EVs.

For now, though, the internal combustion engine retains its dominance.

More than 246,500 traditionally powered vehicles were sold in the June quarter, an 11 per cent rise.

But EVs and hybrids are eating into their market share, which has dipped from 86 to 83 per cent so far this year.

In the year to 31 January, registrations of EVs more than doubled in almost every state and territory except Tasmania to reach 72,685 vehicles nationwide.

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There are even more hybrids (362,403) on the nation's roads, though registrations of these cars grew at a more modest 31 per cent.

Nonetheless, there is a long road ahead before EVs and hybrids overtake the combustion engine on the nation's roads, and those of the ACT.

Of the 299,428 cars registered in the ACT in January, more than 96 per cent were still solely powered by fossil fuels. And 18.84 million of cars plying the country's highways, arterials, suburban streets and rural roads, are the same - 97.7 per cent of the national fleet.

By some estimates, the uptake of EVs in Australia is about four times slower than the global average.

Earlier this year the federal government unveiled policies aimed at speeding the transition to electric vehicles.

It has cut taxes on EVs, plans to set tougher fuel efficiency standards and is looking at reducing other barriers impeding the adoption of electric vehicles such as charging infrastructure.

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