Electric vehicle sales June 2021: EVs going strong at half-year mark

The Australian new-car industry posted its eighth consecutive month of growth in June, with EVs contributing 6686 – or 6.0 per cent – to the month’s 110,664 total, according to data collected by the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries (FCAI).

Although a meagre market share, and substantially lagging behind global trends, the numbers are promising for Australia’s adoption of EV technology.

Sales of electric cars were up a considerable 44.5 per cent year-on-year in June – compared to a market average growth of just 0.4 per cent.

Related: Australian new-car sales in June 2021

Battery electric vehicle (BEV) sales climbed substantially, almost tripling in June with 526 sold (up 198.9 per cent). Hybrid (HEV) and plug-in hybrid vehicles (PHEV) were also up, with 5842 (up 37.7 per cent) and 318 (up 52.9 per cent) sold respectively.

Electric vehicle sales in Australia in 2021 so far

By the conclusion of June and the 2020–2021 financial year, year to date sales of EVs across battery, hybrid and plug-in hybrid electric powertrains reached 40,315, comprised of 2217 BEVs, 1440 PHEVs and 36,658 HEVs.

This represents an increase of 114.9 per cent in electric car sales at 2021’s halfway point compared to the same time in 2020 (which totalled 18,761).

Cumulative EV sales across 2020 reached 63,871 (comprised of 1769 BEVs, 1685 PHEVs and 60,417 HEVs), meaning EV sales in 2021 have already reached 63.1 per cent of last year's total by its halfway mark.

Related: Electric vehicle sales in April 2021

Above: 2021 Nissan Leaf e+

June’s strong all-electric car sales result brought 2021’s year to date BEV tally to 2217. Comparing this to 2020’s total BEV sales (of 1769) means that by 2021’s halfway point, Australians had already purchased more all-electric vehicles than they did in the entirety of 2020.

What was Australia’s best-selling electric vehicle in June 2021?

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.

Sales of Mazda’s new MX-30 M Hybrid remained steady with 153 examples leaving showrooms. Sales of the Mazda MX-30 Electric will join this tally when deliveries of the all-electric variant begin in August.

The Porsche Taycan may be the biggest surprise of 2021 so far after topping the <$70k large car segment in March. Another 43 Taycans moved in June, bringing the year to date tally to 369 for the all-electric grand tourer and placing it in tight third place in its segment, behind the BMW 5 Series (370 sold) and the Mercedes-Benz E-Class (551 sold).

Above: 2021 Porsche Taycan

The Mercedes-Benz EQC had a lackluster June, with 12 of the medium SUVs moving in June (down 50 per cent). Not on sale last June, 15 Audi e-trons were sold in April, while two Jaguar I-Paces left the lot – down 75 per cent.

Nissan sold 48 Leafs, up 2.1 per cent. While the beefed up Leaf e+ joined showrooms in late-April, it’s unclear how many sales were of this new flagship model.

Hyundai sold 52 of its Ioniq across hybrid, plug-in hybrid and electric powertrain options, up 13.0 per cent.

Toyota’s Prius and Prius V both enjoyed a strong June, with 11 and 27 models selling respectively (up 22.2 and 50.0 per cent).

How many Teslas have been sold in Australia in 2021?

Unfortunately for new-car sales buffs, Tesla does not disclose sales figures to the FCAI.

However, thanks to registration data, some industry professionals place the number of Tesla Model 3s sold alone at about 4200 – which would make it Australia’s most popular battery electric car by a huge margin.