Electric vehicle sales April 2021: EVs make up nearly a tenth of new-car sales
10 May, 2021
Electric vehicles comprised more than one in every 11 new passenger, SUV and light commercial cars sold during a record-breaking April
Australia’s new-car sales figure last month was the largest ever measured for an April, with electric cars making up 8123 (8.8 per cent) of the record-breaking month’s 92,347 total (as recorded by the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries [FCAI]). With heavy commercial vehicles subtracted, EVs accounted for 9.1 per cent – or more than one in every 11 – of new cars sold.
Hybrids made up the majority of electric car sales, with 7583 of them finding new homes (up 170.7 per cent year-on-year). Battery electric vehicles (BEV) contributed 286 (up 401.8 per cent), while plug-in hybrids (PHEVs) added 248 (up 213.9 per cent) to the tally.
Related: Electric vehicle sales in March 2021
Up from zero in April 2020, six hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEV) sold in April. All were Toyota Mirai FCEVs as the Japanese giant rolls out plans to lease them as fleet vehicles.
US electric carmaker Tesla does not supply sales data to the FCAI, so it’s plausible Australian electric vehicle sales in April were even greater than these numbers suggest.
What was Australia’s best-selling electric car?
The FCAI does not break down sales among different powertrains of the same nameplate, meaning figures for electric variants of such models as the Toyota RAV4, Toyota Corolla and MG ZS are not available despite the models’ sales successes.
Mazda sold 160 examples of its all-new MX-30 M Hybrid. Sales of the Mazda MX-30 Electric will join this tally when deliveries of the all-electric variant begin in August.
Related: Electric cars coming to Australia in 2021
As predicted, the Porsche Taycan’s sales took a dip after a stellar March 2021 where it topped the <$70k large car segment. Just 48 of the all-electric grand tourer moved in April, however this was still enough to place in the top three in the segment behind the Mercedes-Benz E-Class (106) and BMW 5 Series (69).
The Mercedes-Benz EQC had a strong performance, with 36 of the medium SUVs moving in April (up 620 per cent). Not on sale last April, 10 Audi e-trons were sold in April, while only one Jaguar I-Pace left the lot – down 80 per cent.
Nissan sold 30 Leafs, up 158.3 per cent. While the beefed up Leaf e+ joined showrooms in late-April, it’s unclear how many of the sales were of this new flagship model.
Hyundai sold 30 of its Ioniq across hybrid, plug-in hybrid and electric powertrain options, up 36.4 per cent.
