The article closed with the following words, “… the first mass-produced electric car scheduled to go on sale in Australia, the Mitsubishi i-MiEV, is due for release soon, chances are, other companies will follow with their own models soon after.”

With the recent advent of the game-changing Tesla car company and its stable of stunning electric motor vehicles, it seems like a good time for an update. 

Electric vehicles available in Australia

A lot can happen in four and a half years. The Mitsubishi i-MiEV has come and gone being a recently discontinued line in Australia, but in its place are five new EV and PHEV vehicles available from large manufacturers.

According to ReNew, the fabulous quarterly magazine of the Alternative Technology Association, these are the Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV, Nissan Leaf, Holden Volt, BMW i3 and Tesla Model S. The April-June 2015 issue of ReNew includes a comprehensive 32-page electric vehicle special from which this article draws heavily.

A quick note on acronyms; EV is fairly obvious - electric vehicle. But what does PHEV stand for? Plug-in hybrid electric vehicles have a petrol/diesel engine, sometimes known as a range-extender engine, in addition to their electric motor. The Mitsubishi Outlander is one such vehicle.

And not surprisingly, it is the Outlander PHEV that is the top selling EV in Australia, with 895 sales in 2014, more than five times as many as the second-placed Nissan Leaf. I say not surprisingly because it is a bigger and more versatile vehicle than the Leaf, but more importantly in a country the size of Australia, range anxiety is a factor in purchasing decisions.

International picture

So how does the Australian situation compare to what’s happening in the rest of the world. For a start we have a lot fewer models available here. Worldwide, there are around 40 EV models and in 2014 there were well in excess of 300,000 EV vehicles sold, making Australia’s 1181 sales look tiny in comparison.

Interestingly, six of the top 20 selling EVs worldwide are made by Chinese manufacturers. They are only available in China but it is only a matter of time before they start to be exported.

The future

China’s investment might be one of the factors that eventually results in the EV jump from curiosity to commonplace in Australia. The other quantum shift already underway is the arrival of Tesla models in the country.

Yes there are  few as yet and yes they are expensive. But they demonstrate that EVs can not only be beautiful, they can have a reasonable range as well. Tesla’s Model X is a full-electric luxury 4WD with a stated range of 300 to 500km depending on specification. It is due in Australia next year.

So get ready for the EV revolution, it’s on the way. I look forward to a time when Australians can choose between a range of quality EVs suitable for city and country driving and running wholly or mostly on electricity generated from the sun or wind. How good will that be!

Green tip of the week:

Check the Green Vehicle Guide before buying a car: www.greenvehicleguide.gov.au

Green dates for the calendar:

Wednesday, April 22 – ECCO public meeting focusing on the Orange Botanic Gardens master plan with guest speaker, Orange City Council’s Scott Maunder.