Motorists pooh pooh petrol for low-emission options
Jennifer Dudley-Nicholson |
Pure petrol cars are falling further out of favour while hybrid, plug-in hybrid and electric vehicles race up the Australia charts and prepare to take their place.
Industry sales figures released on Wednesday have revealed the gap narrowed between new petrol and low-emission car sales in November.
Fewer than 2600 vehicle sales separated the groups for the first time after petrol vehicle sales fell by 18.1 per cent compared to last November, and were down by 9.5 per cent for the year.
By comparison, plug-in hybrid vehicle sales have more than doubled during 2025, up by 130 per cent, and rose by 83.3 per cent during November alone.
The news comes after data from the Australian Automobile Association revealed petrol-powered cars could represent less than half the automotive market by 2027, and almost one year after the New Vehicle Efficiency Standard came into force to encourage the sale of more low-emission cars.
The trend away from purely petrol-powered cars was obvious in the sales figures, Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries chief executive Tony Weber said, which also showed diesel vehicle sales fell by 9.5 per cent in November.
“Petrol’s decline is part of a long-term global market transition,” Mr Weber said.
“We are seeing strong interest in hybrid and plug-in hybrid vehicles and this trend will only accelerate as more models arrive.”
Hybrid vehicles made up almost one in five new vehicles sold during November (18.9 per cent), according to the monthly sales data from the chamber and Electric Vehicle Council.
This was up by 33.7 per cent on the previous year, but plug-in hybrid cars continued to experience faster growth from a lower base.
While they represented 4.7 per cent of new car sales, Mr Weber said plug-in hybrid electric vehicles were becoming the choice of more Australian motorists.
“Plug-in hybrids continue to gain momentum because they give drivers the benefit of electric travel for daily use while removing range concerns,” he said.
“Consumers are looking for flexible, low-emission choices and brands are meeting that demand.”
Electric vehicle sales also accelerated in November, making up 9.1 per cent of the total market with more than 9000 new models sold during the month.
Tesla and Polestar both experienced a boost, with sales of Tesla’s Model Y rising by 37 per cent in November to become the best-selling electric car in Australia.
Overall, Toyota’s hybrid SUV the RAV4 claimed the title of top-selling vehicle in Australia, followed by the Ford Ranger and Toyota HiLux utes.
SUVs continued to represent most new vehicles sold in Australia (60.5 per cent), while sales of passenger vehicles fell by a further 15.7 per cent and commercial vehicle sales tumbled by 11.5 per cent.
AAP
