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Plug-in electric vehicles in Australia

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Two Mitsubishi i MiEVs owned by ChargePoint and Better Place providing test drives during the 2010 Australian International Motor Show in Sydney.
A Mitsubishi i MiEV charging in Melbourne.
A Better Place charging station in Canberra.

In 2008 Australia started producing its first commercial all-electric vehicle. Originally called the Blade Runner, its name was changed to Electron, and is already being exported to New Zealand with one purchased by the Environment Minister Dr. Nick Smith.[1][2] The Electron is based on the Hyundai Getz chassis and has proven popular with government car pools.[3]

In October 2008, Better Place announced plans to deploy charging network to power electric cars in Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane in partnership with Australian power company AGL and finance group Macquarie Capital.[4] The initial network deployment was planned to take place in Canberra in late 2011.[5] As of December 2011, 12 public charge spots (power outlets, not battery swap stations) had been installed in Australia.[6] The roll out of the Australian network was initially planned to begin 6 months to a year after the roll out of the network in Denmark.[7] In December 2012, Renault announced that the launch of the Renault Fluence Z.E. was postponed indefinitely following delays with the roll out of Australia's electric vehicle infrastructure. The electric car was scheduled to go on sale to the public from a number of dealers across the country in the fourth quarter of 2012. Better Place explained that delays in the deployments in Israel and Denmark are reflecting in the Australian roll out, which would take place between 12 and 18 months behind the other markets.[8] Better place have since gone bust with the only sign they ever existed being a few lone silver posts standing in (mostly university) car parks. Chargepoint is now the only major operator of a charging network still based and active in Australia.[9] Beginning in mid-2009, twelve-month field trial was conducted with the Mitsubishi i-MiEV with potential electric vehicle customers, such as local, state and federal government bodies, and major fleet operators.[10] Leasing for fleet customers began in Australia in August 2010.[11][12] As of May 2011, a total of 110 i-MiEVs had been leased to government and corporate fleets, while retail sales to the public began in August 2011. As of September 2013, the Australian government does not offer any form of incentive or rebate scheme for the purchase of fuel-efficient vehicles by its citizens.[13] As of December 2012, 125 i-MiEVs had been sold in the country, 30 of which were sold by December 2011.[14]

A two-year fleet trial of 10 converted Ford Focus Electric cars, that also included 14 i-MiEVs and 3 Toyota Prius PHEVs,[15] commenced in Western Australia in 2010.[16] Each converted car was equipped with a 23 kWh battery pack, a 27 kW DC motor and a 1000A motor controller. These cars were then used in the study as regular fleet vehicles to find their usability for everyday driving.[17] In July 2011, Nissan Australia provided 16 Nissan Leaf vehicles, to be used by both personal and commercial users, for an electric vehicle trial in Victoria.[18] A total of 19 Leafs were registered in 2011, while sales of the Nissan Leaf in Australia began in June 2012—77 units were sold during 2012.[14][19] The Holden Volt, a plug-in hybrid model, was released onto the Australian market by late 2012 and a total of 80 units were delivered during that year.[14]

A total of 258 plug-in electric cars were sold during 2012, with the i-MiEV as the top selling model, with 95 units sold.[20] Sales during 2013 totaled 304 units, up 20% from 2012. The Nissan Leaf was the top selling plug-in car with 188 units followed by the Holden Volt with 101 units. The EV market share in 2013 was 0.036% of total new car sales in the country.[21][22] As of September 2013, the largest public charging networks exist in the capital cities of Perth and Melbourne, with around 30 stations (7 kW AC) established in both cities—smaller networks exist in other capital cities. An Australian standard for charging connectors does not exist as of September 2013.[23]

Since 2014 Mitsubishi is no longer importing the i-MiEV after slow sales due to the high price and due to competition from the more successful Outlander PHEV for battery components. Sales during the first quarter of 2014 totaled 42 units, representing a 0.015% market share of new car sales,[24] and during the first half of 2014 sales reached 114 units.[25] Deliveries of the Tesla Model S in Australia began in late 2014.[26] Deliveries of the BMW i3 also commenced at the end of 2014. Sales during 2014 totaled 1,228 units, up 288% from 2013.[27] The plug-in electric segment reached a 0.11% market share of total new car sales in the country, up threefold from 0.036% in 2013.[21][27] The surge in sales was due to the introduction of the Mitsubishi Outlander P-HEV, which sold 895 units during 2014, and became Australia's top selling plug-in electric vehicle.[27] Cumulative sales in the Australian market since 2010 reached over 1,950 units by the end of December 2014, up from 304 units in 2013.[14][21][27][28][29][30]

A total of 246 Holden Volts had been sold in the country by mid April 2015, with the stock of the first generation almost empty. General Motors announced that it will not build the second generation Volt in right-hand-drive configuration, so the Holden Volt will be discontinued in the country when the remaining stock is sold out.[31] As of April 2015, the following models are available in the Australian market: Nissan Leaf, Tesla Model S, both variants of the BMW i3 (REx and all-electric), BMW i8, Mitsubishi Outlander P-HEV, and Porsche plug-in hybrids, 918 Spyder, Panamera and Cayenne.[31][32][33] Other models scheduled to be launched in the country include the Audi A3 e-tron and the Audi Q7 e-tron.[31]

As of December 2014, a total of 65 Model S cars were registered in New South Wales and only four in Victoria.[28] At the end of March 2015, registrations totaled 119 in New South Wales and 54 in Victoria. Although there were no sales figures reported for Tesla in other states, the combined sales of these two states alone were enough for the Model S to rank as the top selling all-electric car in the country for the first quarter of 2015, ahead of the BMW i3 (46) and the Nissan Leaf (31).[28] Australia's top selling plug-in electric vehicle for the first quarter of 2015 was the Outlander P-HEV, with 198 units sold,[34] again in the first quarter of 2016 ranked as the top selling plug-in with 195 units,[35] and continued as the country's all-time best selling plug-in with 2,015 units sold through March 2016 since its introduction in 2013.[36] As of December 2016, about 1,000 Nissan Leafs have been sold since its introduction in the country in 2012.[37]

Sales

Registration of highway-capable plug-in electric cars by model in Australia between 2010 and March 2016
Model Total
2010–2017(1)		 YTD
2017(1)[38]		 2016[38] 2015[38] 2014[38] 2013[38] 2012[38] 2011[38] 2010[30][39]
Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV 1,666 1 49 753 863 – – – –
Nissan Leaf 635 0 42 136 173 188 77 19 –
Tesla Model S 323 ? 150 104(2) 69(2) – – – –
BMW i3 310 34 93 150 33 – – – –
Holden Volt 247 0 0 8 58 101 80 – –
Mitsubishi i MiEV 237 0 0 0 0 0 95 30 112
Mercedes-Benz C350e 230 54 168 8 – – – – –
Porsche Cayenne S E-Hybrid 138 0 77 58 3 – – – –
Audi A3 e-tron 128 60 60 8 – – – – –
BMW i8 102 6 32 61 3 – – – –
BMW 330e 102 28 74 – – – – – –
Volvo XC90 T8 98 26 72 – – – – – –
BMW X5 xDrive40e 78 2 60 16 – – – – –
Mercedes-Benz GLE500e 56 16 40 – – – – – –
Tesla Roadster 11 0 0 0 0 0 5 6 –
Renault Kangoo Z.E. 10 1 4 0 5 – – – –
Renault Fluence Z.E. 4 0 0 0 0 3 1 – –
Total registrations 4,420 282 912 1,302 1,207 292 258 55 112
Notes: (1) 2017 figures as of 25 April.
(2) Model S figures correspond only to registrations in New South Wales and Victoria.[28]

Electric Vehicles available in Australia

Company Name Type Body Available Price Fuel per 100km/Range Notes
Tesla Model S BEV 5 Door Sedan (Saloon) 2014 $115,000 408km range Various Models
Tesla Model X BEV SUV 2016 $165,000 417km range As of 2017 there are 4 models ranging from about $165,000 to about $265,000 with battery range from 417km to 565km
Toyota Prius C HEV 5 Door Hatchback 2012 $23,000 3.5 Two models are available, a base model and the iTech. The iTech is around $4000 more
Toyota Prius V HEV Station Wagon 2012 $35,990 4.4L 7 seat wagon in 2 models: Standard and i-Tech.
Toyota Prius HEV 2001 3.9 L
Honda Civic Hybrid HEV Feb 2004 5.3L
Toyota Corolla HEV 5 Door Hatchback June 2016 $ 26,990 4.1L
Toyota Camry Hybrid HEV Sedan (Saloon) July 2006 5.2L
Honda CR-Z HEV 3 Door Hatchback, sport compact car Dec 2011 $35,000 4.0L No longer offered as of 2015.[40]
Holden Volt PHEV 5 Door Hatchback Dec 2012 $60,000 3.8L No longer offered as of 2015[41]
Honda Jazz HEV 5 Door Hatchback Feb 2013 $23,000 4.5L [42]
Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV PHEV SUV March 2014 $47,500[43] 5.3L (Hybrid Mode)
Nissan Leaf BEV 5 Door Hatchback 2001 $51,500 170 km range
Blade Electron BEV 5 Door Hatchback (Hyundai Getz) 2008 $48,000 100 km range Ceased making in 2011[44]
Mitsubishi iMiEV BEV 5 Door Hatchback July 2010 160 km range [45] Available for fleets only
Honda Accord HEV 2015 4.6 L
Lexus CT200h HEV 2012 4.1 L
Infiniti Q50 Hybrid, Q70 Hybrid HEV Sedan (Saloon) 2014 $79,197 [46] 6.8 L Premium Unleaded
BMW i3 BEV 5 Door Hatchback 2014 130 km for 60 Ah battery pack Range extender option available
BMW i8 PHEV Sports Car 2015 $320,000 2.1L
Volvo XC90 T8 PHEV Large SUV 2016 $100,000 40km battery range + Petrol

See also

References

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  2. ^ Goodger, Karen (28 March 2009), "Environment minister puts plug before pump", The Nelson Mail, retrieved 12 April 2009
  3. ^ Lucas, Paul (16 December 2008), Breakthrough for Blade Down Under, www.thegreencarwebsite.co.uk, retrieved 12 April 2009
  4. ^ "Australia plans electric vehicle network". AFP. 23 October 2008. Archived from the original on 26 October 2008. Retrieved 24 October 2008. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  5. ^ "Better Place bringing switchable battery electric taxi program to the San Francisco Bay Area". Green Car Congress. 28 October 2010. Retrieved 28 October 2010.
  6. ^ Better Place. "Global Progress – Australia". Archived from the original on 23 November 2011. Retrieved 3 December 2011. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  7. ^ "How Better Place plans to revive the electric car". Cnet.com.au. Archived from the original on 15 February 2009. Retrieved 17 October 2009. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  8. ^ Tim Beissmann (13 December 2012). "Renault Fluence Z.E. launch delayed due to infrastructure hold-ups". Car Advice. Retrieved 19 December 2012.
  9. ^ "Electric vehicle charging network by ChargePoint". Chargepoint Australia. Retrieved 6 January 2015.
  10. ^ "Mitsubishi i-MiEV headed to Australia: becomes country's first manufacturer-produced EV". AutoblogGreen. 9 June 2010. Retrieved 19 June 2010.
  11. ^ "Mitsubishi Motors to Begin Shipping i-MiEV to Australia in July; 2nd Market Outside Japan". Green Car Congress. 2 June 2010. Retrieved 2 June 2010.
  12. ^ "Mitsubishi first to launch EV in Australia". Go Auto. 10 June 2010. Retrieved 20 June 2010.
  13. ^ Tim Beissmann (19 March 2011). "2011 Mitsubishi i-MiEV on sale to Australian public in Q3". Car Advice. Retrieved 21 May 2011.
  14. ^ a b c d Mat Gasnier (5 January 2013). "Australia Full Year 2012: Mazda3 leads again in record market, no local model on podium for the first time since 1930s!". Best Selling Car Blog. Retrieved 19 January 2013.
  15. ^ "The Victorian Electric Vehicle Trial" (PDF). State Government of Victoria. Retrieved 21 December 2011.
  16. ^ "Western Australia's electric vehicle trial". Archived from the original on 16 October 2012. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  17. ^ "Gumtree Electric Car Buyers Guide".
  18. ^ "It's LEAFs, not Leaves!! – The 2011 World Car of the Year arrives in Melbourne". State Government of Victoria Department of Transport. Archived from the original on 9 July 2012. Retrieved 21 December 2011. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  19. ^ Nissan Media Australia (15 June 2012). "Nissan LEAF On Sale Now In Australia, Priced at $51,500". Inside EVs. Retrieved 12 August 2012.
  20. ^ David McCowen (18 February 2013). "The rise and fall of Better Place". Drive.com.au. Archived from the original on 30 September 2013. Retrieved 14 April 2013. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  21. ^ a b c Jose Pontes (18 January 2014). "Australia December 2013". EVSales.com. Retrieved 19 January 2014.
  22. ^ Mat Gasnier (16 January 2014). "Australia Q4 2013: Jeep Grand Cherokee shines". Best Selling Cars Blog. Retrieved 19 January 2014.
  23. ^ Thomas Bräunl (16 September 2013). "Setting the standard: Australia must choose an electric car charging norm". The Conversation Australia. Retrieved 16 September 2013.
  24. ^ Joshua Dowling (10 April 2014). "BMW launches electric car in Australia, wants taxpayers to foot $10,000 of its $64,000 price". News.com.au. Retrieved 12 April 2014.
  25. ^ Byron Mathioudakis (17 July 2014). "Nissan to keep 'plugging away' on Leaf EV". Go auto. Retrieved 8 August 2014.
  26. ^ "Tesla Australia Launch Event – Video". Insideevs.
  27. ^ a b c d Pontes, Jose (15 January 2015). "Australia Full Year 2014 (Updated)". EV Sales. Retrieved 15 January 2015. Tesla Model S sales estimate is too low, see next source.
  28. ^ a b c d David McCowen (26 May 2015). "Why the Tesla is Australia's best-selling electric car". Drive. Retrieved 13 July 2015.
  29. ^ Jose Pontes (5 January 2013). "Australia Full Year 2012". EV Sales. Retrieved 30 June 2013.
  30. ^ a b Joshua Dowling (6 September 2011). "Mitsubishi electric car back in stock". CarsSales.com.au. Retrieved 1 July 2013.
  31. ^ a b c Mike Costello (25 April 2015). "The Holden Volt is dead". Car Advice. Retrieved 26 April 2015.
  32. ^ Mitsubishi Motors Australia. "The World's First Plug-in Hybrid SUV". Retrieved 5 January 2015.
  33. ^ Porsche Australia. "Porsche Australia official website". Retrieved 5 January 2015. Click on models for details of the two S E-Hybrid models and the 918 Spyder.
  34. ^ Pontes, Jose (10 July 2015). "Australia Q1 2015". EV Sales. Retrieved 13 July 2015.
  35. ^ Jose, Pontes (10 May 2016). "Australia Q1 2016". EVSales.com. Retrieved 22 May 2016.
  36. ^ "Global Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV Sales Pass the 100,000 Mark" (Press release). UK: Mitsubishi Motors UK. 19 May 2016. Retrieved 22 May 2016. As of March 2016, a total of 65,529 units have been sold in Europe (21,052 in the UK and 44,477 in the rest of Europe), 33,730 in Japan, 2,015 in Australia and 259 in the rest of the world, for a total of 101,533 units sold worldwide.
  37. ^ Hallenbeck, Todd (6 January 2017). "Nissan grows a better LEAF". Motoring. Retrieved 7 January 2017.
  38. ^ a b c d e f g "Australia's EV and PHEV sales analysed – CarAdvice".
  39. ^ "2010's Sinkers and Swimmers". Top Gear Australia Magazine (033). Sydney, New South Wales: ACP Magazines: 64. March 2011. {{cite journal}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  40. ^ Hall, Sam (28 January 2015). "Honda CR-Z axed in Australia". Drive. Drive. Retrieved 12 April 2017.
  41. ^ Costello, Mike. "The Holden Volt is dead". Retrieved 19 December 2016.
  42. ^ Dowling, Joshua. "Honda Jazz hybrid Australia's cheapest". Carsguide. Carsguide.com.au. Retrieved 12 April 2014.
  43. ^ Crawford, Anthony. "Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV". CarAdvice. CarAdvice.com.au. Retrieved 12 April 2014.
  44. ^ Blade, Ross. "The Blade Electron". Blade Electric Vehicles Pty Ltd. Retrieved 12 April 2014.
  45. ^ "Mitsubishi iMiEV electric". Clean-GreenCars.com. Retrieved 12 April 2014.
  46. ^ "Infinit Q50 Premium". Drive.com.au. Retrieved 14 October 2017.
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