Australia's outer suburbs overtook the inner cities in electric car sales last year.Electric car uptake in Australia lags behind the rest of the world, but cheaper models and the high coverage of rooftop solar will see that gap shrink in coming years.
Overall, about 43 per cent of electric cars sold by the car companies last year went to people in outer-metropolitan suburbs, compared to 39 per cent sold in inner-metropolitan areas, as petrol price hikes drove more people to switch to electric. "So although the initial cost of buying an electric car is higher than a petrol car, the running costs are significantly lower."That's the case for Nanda Nalluri, an emergency services worker living on the Mornington Peninsula, south-east of Melbourne.
He is now on an electricity plan that offers a special EV-charging deal, with the cheapest prices in the early hours of the morning, and free power in the middle of the day when there are high levels of solar power in the grid. "A lot of friends in outer metro area have jumped on the EVs as well for the exact same reason, especially if they do similar kilometres to me," he said.The average capital city household spent 17 per cent of its income on transport in the December quarter, according to Australian Automobile Association data released last week.
"People in inner suburbs might hesitate or might say, 'where am I going to charge it, I live in an apartment?'" he said. "In Melbourne, about 5 per cent of houses do not have off-street parking. Such houses are disproportionately located in inner suburbs, where public transport is generally good," the Grattan report read.
"We've been doubling electric vehicle sales in Australia. Globally, that number is closer to about 20 per cent. So Australia's still got a lot of catching up to do, but we are doing that catching up very quickly," Mr Jafari said.EV sales doubled in Australia in the past year, but experts say there's 'a long way to go'Electric vehicle uptake in Melbourne's outer suburbs is surging.