EVwire brief: Battery electric vehicles (BEVs) have outsold petrol cars in Australia for two months in a row.
Energy transition advisor Gavin Mooney broke down the surge on LinkedIn, noting that the BEV share of new car sales is now roughly triple what it was in 2025. More BEVs were sold in the first half of 2026 than in all of 2025, and September's BEV share doubled in 2025 before doubling again in 2026, he said. Counting hybrids, electrified vehicles now make up about half of all new vehicles sold in the country.
Mooney pointed to fuel prices as the spark, but not the whole story:
"Fuel prices were the catalyst. The 2026 petrol and diesel price shock brought running cost savings into sharp focus. But what enabled the acceleration was cheaper models, more choice and much stronger competition - especially from Chinese brands."
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The gap between EVs and petrol cars in September was thin but notable. Once Tesla's 5,654 deliveries, which the automaker reports through the Electric Vehicle Council rather than the FCAI, were counted, BEVs reached 26,087 sales for the month, as per The Driven. That was just 69 more than petrol cars (26,018), with diesels not far behind at 25,173.
BEVs took a 24.2% share of the market, just shy of August's record 24.8%, with the Tesla Model Y leading all EVs at 4,476 units. Year to date, BEVs account for 18.9% of Australia's new car market, up from 8.1% at the same point in 2025. Mooney also noted that the cheapest new car of any kind in Australia right now is a BEV.
Here's how Australia's top 10 best-selling EVs stacked up in September:
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Context:
Australia's EV momentum has been building all year, with Tesla setting much of the pace. The Model Y became Australia's best-selling car in May, a first for an EV, and Tesla followed that with a record 8,670 sales in June. The automaker kept that run going with a near-record 7,685 deliveries in August, and its September tally lifted its year-to-date total to 41,705 vehicles, up 84.1% from the same period last year.
The charging side of the market has been scaling alongside it. Tesla celebrated its 1,000th Supercharger stall in Australia in June, while fuel giant Ampol agreed this month to buy Evie Networks for AU$225 million (US$156 million). This means that Australia's charging buildout is picking up pace just as BEVs overtake petrol in showrooms.
Source: Gavin Mooney on LinkedIn, The Driven
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