In a recent video from the Fully Charged Show, Oceania correspondent Simone Annan discussed why EV sales are booming in Australia. In terms of supplier share in 2023, Tesla remain the number 1 supplier for EV shipments, with 45,275 vehicles sold. BYD entered the Australian market about 18 months ago and is already the number 2 supplier, with more than 11,000 vehicles sold. MG sits in 3rd position with almost 6000 vehicles sold. Other Chinese vehicle manufacturers, such as LDV and GWM, are also seeing sales growth.
Behyad Jafari, CEO of the Australia Electric Vehicle Council suggests the growth in sales of Chinese produced EVs was down to 2 main things: what’s happening in China in terms of the vehicles being produced which are high tech, lower cost and geographically close to Australia and the rising demand for EVs in Australia.
Fully Charged China correspondent Elliot Richards made an interesting point about China’s “Made in China 2025” policy, highlighting that EV expertise and production have become a key part of the strategy. As everything is now vertically integrated in China, this makes the industry very competitive and difficult to contend with for traditional automotive OEMs.
It’s suggested that legacy automakers have traditionally focused on driving experience, whilst newer OEMs (particularly in China, but you could also include Tesla, Fisker, and others) are more focused on technology and how it can benefit your life.
Elliot also spoke about which new brands are most likely to enter the Australian market – Radar (pick-ups) and GAC. Simone added unconfirmed expectations that AON, Zeeker, Chery, and more could also enter the market in the next 12 months.
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