Fuel crisis drives record Aussie electric car sales
Australians raced to secure electric vehicles during a fuel crisis sparked by war in the Middle East, breaking a national record by nearly doubling sales.
Drivers bought more than 15,800 new electric cars in March, while sales of gasoline and diesel vehicles stagnated, according to figures released by the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industry on Tuesday.
Pure electric cars represented 14.6 percent of all new car sales for the month, up from 7.5 percent in March 2025.
This was the highest number of electric vehicles sold in Australia in one month.
Interest in battery-powered vehicles comes at a time when fuel shortages across the country are straining drivers following the conflict in Iran, which has pushed the price of diesel to more than $3 per liter.
Chamber president Tony Weber said the charge for electric vehicles comes despite a modest 3.3 percent decline in new car sales, but he stopped short of saying it’s a permanent trend.
“It is too early to determine whether this represents a structural change in the market,” he said.
“More consumers are considering electric vehicles due to fuel supply disruptions caused by the conflict in the Middle East and the review of additional tax breaks for electric vehicles.”
Tesla’s Model Y became Australia’s third best-selling vehicle in March as a result of a surge in sales, with electric vehicles doubling in popularity by 2026, rising by 115 per cent.
Sales of other low-emission cars also accelerated in March; hybrid vehicle sales increased 6.7 percent to almost 18,000 vehicles; Plug-in hybrid sales increased by 18.5 percent compared to the same month in 2025.
In comparison, gasoline vehicle sales decreased by 20.8 percent and diesel vehicle sales decreased by 10.1 percent in March.
Mr Weber said governments should increase investment in electric vehicle chargers if the trend towards low-emission vehicles continues.
“A long-term transition to electric vehicles will require Australian governments to focus on public charging infrastructure, particularly in regional areas and where home charging is impractical,” he said.
“Ensuring infrastructure keeps pace with consumer demand will be critical to ensuring sustainable growth in electric vehicle adoption beyond short-term impacts.”
Electric vehicle sales record also emerges amid federal government scrutiny Electric Car Discount and is considering the introduction of a road user fee instead of the revenue collected through fuel consumption tax.
Despite the resulting sales trend, the Ford Ranger ute once again took the title of Australia’s best-selling vehicle in March, followed by the Toyota HiLux ute.
Toyota remains the country’s largest automotive brand, followed by Mazda, Kia, Ford and Hyundai.
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