Australian electric car and bus sales soar - but trucks lag far behind

An unprecedented boom is underway in Australia’s electric vehicle market. Almost 158,000 electric vehicles (EVs) were sold in the first six months of 2026, according to the Electric Vehicle Council’s latest report, released today. This is more than in all of 2025. EVs accounted for one in four new cars sold in the first half of 2026, with their market share more than doubling from 12.1% in the first half of 2025 to 25.8% over the same period this year. This surge has come amid extraordinary fuel price volatility during the US-Iran war, and at a time when Australians have more electric models to choose from than ever before. But as hundreds of thousands more EVs hit Australian roads, is the necessary charging infrastructure ready to keep them moving? What’s behind the sales boom? Of all new cars sold in the first half of 2026, about 17% were fully electric, while another 9% were plug-in hybrids (cars that combine a rechargeable battery with a petrol or diesel engine). Sales of both types of vehicles have grown remarkably quickly. Compared with the same six months last year, sales of fully electric vehicles rose by about 120%, while plug-in hybrid sales increased by about 112%. The acceleration in fully electric cars is particularly striking. After a relatively subdued start to 2025, monthly sales climbed sharply through early 2026 and reached a record high in June. If this trajectory continues, more than 200,000 fully electric vehicles are projected to be sold this year. Australia also appears to have roughly caught up with the global average for EV uptake, after years of trailing behind. Consumers are being spoiled for choice Australians also have far more EVs to choose from. There are now 196 models on the market – 125 fully electric and 71 plug-in hybrids – up from 153 last year. Importantly, greater choice also means more affordable models and new vehicle types. Chinese manufacturers are increasingly prominent in this more competitive market. In September, the major Chinese EV manufacturer BYD launched the Atto 1 with a starting price of $19,990, pushing a new EV below the $20,000 mark for the first time. BYD has become Australia’s second-highest-selling car brand overall. Its Shark 6 plug-in hybrid ute sold almost 9,500 vehicles in the first half of 2026. By June, it had become Australia’s third-highest-selling ute, behind only the Ford Ranger and Toyota HiLux. It is also noticeably larger than both. A second-hand market is also developing, which is potentially widening access to EVs beyond new-car buyers. Not all vehicles are electrifying at the same pace Australia’s shift to electric vehicles, however, looks very different depending on what is being driven. Almost one-third of new buses sold in the first half of 2026 were electric, compared with about 26% of passenger cars. This makes buses the fastest-electrifying vehicle category in Australia. At the other end of the spectrum, just 0.6% of new trucks sold in the first half of 2026 were electric. This isn’t because there are none to buy. Around 30 electric truck models above 4.5 tonnes are now available in Australia. Yet of roughly 35,000 trucks sold in 2025, only about 200 were electric. There are signs of change. This year, Volvo began producing electric trucks at its Wacol factory in Queensland, making it the first electric trucks manufactured locally by a major global vehicle maker. Is infrastructure keeping up? Alongside the booming sales, Australia’s charging network is expanding, too. According to the EV Council’s report, there are now more than 4,200 public charging locations across Australia, containing around 11,600 individual charging points. Of these, around 1,560 locations offer fast or ultra-fast charging. Over the past year, the number of these locations increased by 18%, while the number of individual charging points at them grew by 31%. Ultra-fast charging points, capable of delivering 100 kW or more, increased by 55%. However, access remains uneven. Nationally, there are around 144 fully electric vehicles for every ultra-fast charging point. But this is not uniform – there are 51 in the Northern Territory and 77 in South Australia, compared with more than 200 in Tasmania, Western Australia and the ACT. And public chargers are only part of the picture. For many EV owners, the easiest and cheapest option is still to plug in at home while the car sits overnight. But this convenience isn’t available to everyone. Apartment residents and households without off-street parking may have nowhere to plug in, meaning they are dependent on public, workplace or kerbside charging. Electric trucks charging at a commercial EV charging station. Australian uptake of electric trucks is far behind the recent boom in cars and buses. gerenme/Getty The next challenge is access and scale The speed and scale of surge in EV demand because of the US-Iran war was impossible to foresee even a year ago. Despite this year’s surge, EVs still make up only a small fraction of Australia’s total vehicle fleet, roughly 3%. Australia would need around five million fully electric vehicles on the road by 2035 to remain on track to meet the national emissions target. This means the fully electric fleet would need to grow roughly tenfold from where it stands today, the EV Council report found. But if this year’s growth continues, two issues will become increasingly important: expanding charging infrastructure, and making convenient charging accessible beyond households with their own parking. Freight remains an important missing piece. Battery-electric trucks are becoming increasingly technically and economically viable. Turning their potential into widespread uptake, however, will require high-powered charging at depots and along freight routes. We also need to find ways to fit charging around tightly scheduled freight operations.