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Electric Vehicle sales have risen 65 per cent in 2022 compared to last year and now represent 3.4 per cent of all vehicle sales, but still well behind the global average of 8.6 per cent.

The Tesla Model 3 continued to dominate EV sales in 2022, accounting for one-third of new EVs sold.

The ACT recorded the strongest EV sales in 2022, with 9.5 per cent of all new vehicles there being electric, followed by NSW (3.7%), Victoria (3.4%), Queensland (3.3%), Tasmania (3.3%), Western Australia (2.8%), South Australia (2.3%), and the Northern Territory (0.8%), a report by the Electric Vehicle Council released today found.

Australia is near the back of the pack for EV policy, the Electric Vehicle Council says.Credit:Owen Humphreys/PA

There has been a 22 per cent increase in fast and ultra-fast charger locations across the country since 2021, with about 350 chargers now available.

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Electric Vehicle Council spokesman Dr Jake Whitehead said while progress is welcome, Australia remains well behind many countries for EV sales and policy.

“To put our 3.4 per cent (EV sales) in context – Germany sits at 26 per cent, the UK at 19 per cent, and California at 13 per cent. The global average is 8.6 per cent,” Whitehead said.

“Because our governments have lagged the world on EV policy, Australia is still something of an afterthought for global EV manufacturers.

“Australian consumers have a smaller range of EVs to choose from and they are also being forced to wait for many months or even years to take delivery of new vehicles.”

If Australia did not introduce fuel efficiency standards on par with the EU and the US we would continue to lag the world by a huge margin, Whitehead said.