EVs and hybrids take nearly half of Australian new car sales as fuel prices rise

Electric and hybrid vehicles are now being bought at a similar rate to petrol-powered cars in Australia. The Australian Automobile Association (AAA) released its latest EV Index, showing that almost half of new car sales between April and June were electric, plug-in hybrid or hybrid models. This period coincided with fuel price instability.

Battery electric vehicle sales in the second quarter of 2026 more than doubled compared with the first three months of the year, rising from 34,435 to 69,414 units. The AAA described this as the largest-ever quarterly increase for electric vehicles. The market share of fully electric cars reached 21.03 percent, and plug-in hybrids accounted for 10.58 percent, both record figures. Hybrid sales also reached an all-time high, though they were outpaced by the surge in battery-electric purchases.

Meanwhile, traditional internal combustion engine vehicles saw their market share fall to 50.84 percent in the most recent data, down from 64.23 percent in the first quarter. The AAA noted this was the lowest-ever share for petrol-powered vehicles and their biggest quarterly decline. When the EV Index began in 2022, nine out of every ten new cars sold were internal combustion models.

Fuel prices peaked in March, following instability in the Middle East that affected supply routes. The federal government intervened on 30 March by announcing a fuel excise reduction to provide relief. That reduction ends on Sunday, and prices are again on track to exceed $2 per litre.