The improved range will come with significantly cheaper electric cars as supply increases, and Bell Resources expects electric vehicles to account for 30 per cent of all new passenger and light commercial vehicle sales in Australia by 2030.
Should the forecast come true, Australia is on course for a rapid transition to electric cars – a trend that threatens to uproot the local auto industry and create opportunities for Australian companies.
Buoyed by government stimulus, Australia has seen solid growth in electric vehicle sales over the last year. Data released earlier this week showed 20,655 electric vehicles were sold in Australia last year, up 6,900 from 2020. New electric vehicles accounted for 1.95 per cent of all new car sales – still well behind traditional petrol guzzlers – but up from 0, 78 percent new sales in 2020.
Australia also continues to lag significantly behind Europe and, to a lesser extent, the United States.
EVs make up more than 11 percent of cars in western Europe, and registrations for the zero-emission cars surpassed diesel types for the first time in December, data from Schmidt Automotive Research showed.
In the US, sales are about 3 percent of the total market share, but this is expected to grow quickly as President Biden sees reducing emissions as a top priority.
Increased demand for electric vehicles has already given a boost to several Australian companies positioning themselves to capitalize.
Tritium, a maker of fast charging systems for electric vehicles that was listed on the Nasdaq last month, is aiming to open its US manufacturing facility soon, which once built will more than triple the company’s capacity.
Carbon Revolution — a maker of lightweight wheels — announced last week that sales had more than doubled in the past three months on demand for electric vehicles.
Lighter wheels increase the range of electric vehicles, and Carbon Revolution has secured supply deals with General Motors.