Some 1.4m Aussies look to buy electric car

More than one million Australians are currently in the market for an electric vehicle and one in every three would be interested in investing if smart charging stations were available close to their home.

New research from Telsyte also found electric vehicles were already in more than 65,000 Australian households, amid rising demand for the greener form of transport.

The findings come as energy giant BP launched another of 600 planned electric vehicle charging stations in Australia on Wednesday in a move that could convince more motorists to make the transition.

Telsyte managing director Foad Fadaghi said the research firm had investigated the electric vehicle market for 10 years as part of its IoT@Home Market Study and the latest findings showed a surge in the "potential" audience for the technology.

The study found more than 1.4 million Australians were "looking to purchase an electric vehicle", and almost one in five were keen to rent one as part of a subscription.

"It is a high figure that's been growing year on year and it's a reflection of Australian consumers gravitating to carbon-free vehicles," Mr Fadaghi said.

The study also found more than 65,000 households already had an EV, 23,000 had electric vehicle charging stations at home, and Australians were willing to pay $48,959 on average for an electric car.

But Mr Fadaghi said many more Australians – 37 per cent of the population – would be interested in buying a battery-powered vehicle if charging stations were available close to their homes.

"It's a chicken and egg thing when it comes to charging stations outside the home," he said, asking whether cars or chargers should come first.

"Consumers are generally okay with travelling a short distance to a destination to charge a vehicle. As with many early adopters of sustainability products and solutions, consumers are willing to go the extra mile."

But electric vehicle drivers may not have to travel as far to find a charger in future after BP launched its vehicle-charging network in Australia this week.

BP chief executive Bernard Looney officially opened fast-charging points at Brighton East in Melbourne, adding to charging stations already operating in Diamond Creek in Victoria and Caboolture in Queensland.

Mr Looney said the company planned to install 600 charging points throughout Australia under the BP Pulse brand, as part of its goal to roll out 100,000 EV chargers worldwide.

"It's brilliant to get BP Pulse underway in Australia, delivering a high-speed, high-quality charging experience to help accelerate the transition to electric vehicles," he said.

"Australia's ambition is to be a renewable energy superpower and this is just one of the ways we are backing the country that has backed BP for more than a century."

The company's first fast-chargers will be located at petrol stations in urban and regional towns along Australia's east coast, with hardware supplied by Brisbane-based manufacturer Tritium.

Electric vehicles made up 3.39 per cent of new cars sold in Australia up to October this year – an increase of 65 per cent on 2021, according to the Electric Vehicle Council.