Australian car dealers are reporting a dramatic pivot in buyers focus to electric vehicles (EV) as the current conflict in Iran and Australia’s fuel supply insecurities have proved to be powerful motivators for consumers.
The reliance on international relations outside of our own has prompted many Australians to make the switch to EV’s earlier than they would have. It has not just been for the soaring fuel prices, but the concerns over supply and the subsequent panic buying from the public that has made more people want to end their reliance on this commodity.
“You wouldn’t read about it, last month there were hundreds free and available, however there is now nothing left and we sold what we had” said one of our new car dealers about an EV model their brand offered. “We’ll need to order it and it will take around 3-4 months.”
Many of our new car dealers across multiple brands are reporting experiencing the same trend. Even less popular EV models and brands are facing supply shortages as Australian’s try to get their hands on what is available.
The statistics for March 2026 show just how dramatic this shift has been: one in seven new vehicles sold in Australia was electric. EVs hit a 14.6% market share (one-in-seven vehicles are now an EV) with 15,839 units sold in a single month, an 88.9% jump compared to March last year.
Other key trends:
• EV sales up 42% month‑on‑month from February to March.
• Petrol sales down 20.8%, diesel down 10.1% year‑on‑year.
• Google searches for “EV” have tripled since January.
• Used EV sales and EV finance applications are also surging. This is important as the used car market and retained value for used EV’s has been one of their biggest weaknesses.