Car manufacturers in Australia are marching towards becoming electric vehicle brands. It’s inevitable, though electrification will come at a different point for every company.
After all, there’s no requirement for car companies in Australia to move onto electric motors (yet, hopefully), but with environmental consciousness front of mind and fuel efficiency standards in major markets (not Australia), legacy car makers are beginning to dance to the electric beat. Also, the 2035 internal combustion engine (ICE) ban in the European Union is only getting closer.
So, you may be thinking, when will the car manufacturers in Australia go electric? When will ICE cars be phased out? We’ve put together a list of some of Australia’s most successful car manufacturers, explaining when they say they’ll go electric.
When will car manufacturers in Australia go electric?
Toyota
Toyota plans to have 70 electric models globally by 2025, with the BZ4X set to be the first battery-electric Toyota in Australia (it’s the same car as the Subaru Solterra).
Toyota wants to have 3.6 million BEVs on the road globally by 2030, with a plan of ditching ICE vehicles by 2040.
Mazda
Mazda recently released its first fully electric car in Australia, the MX-30, but its electric plans are fairly conservative compared to other brands.
Mazda plans to have 25 per cent of its international product line made up of electric vehicles by 2030. ICE vehicles will still be around by 2030, but all models will be hybrids or have an electric component.
Mitsubishi
Mitsubishi has only released one all-electric vehicle recently, the Airtrek, however, it’s not available in Australia (the Mitsubishi i-MIEV was its first EV back in 2009).
Today, Mitsubishi mostly focuses on hybrids, but it’s aiming to offer an EV option for every model by 2030.
Kia
Kia wants to offer 14 electric vehicle models by 2027, with a goal of selling 1.2 million electric vehicles annually by the end of the decade, with at least two new EVs being revealed each year between 2023 and 2027.
Kia has been ahead of a lot of the competition, with both the Kia Niro S and the Kia EV6 available in Australia. That being said, the company has planned to go all-electric in “key markets” by 2040, excluding, however, Australia.
Hyundai
Hyundai wants to offer at least 11 electric vehicles between now and 2030. The company wants to only sell electric vehicles by 2040. Hyundai’s engine development division was closed in January.
Additionally, the company is pretty keen on hydrogen cars, which haven’t seen the same success as EVs.
Ford
Ford wants 50 per cent of its total volume to be electric by 2030, with several electric vehicles available in other markets (including the Mustang Mach-E, E-Transit and F-150 Lightning).
The company plans to phase out fossil fuels by 2040.
MG
MG currently offers the cheapest electric vehicle in Australia, the MG ZS EV, with another vehicle on the way. MG currently has no plans on going all-electric.
Subaru
Subaru has been slow with EVs, but as of a couple of months ago, its first EV is now official: the Subaru Solterra. As a lifelong Subaru simp, I’m pretty excited for this one, but it’s pretty much the only thing the company has done so far.
Subaru also has a focused EV division, and by 2030, the company wants at least 40 per cent of global sales to be battery-electric or hybrid-electric vehicles. The company plans full electrification of its range by 2030.
Nissan
With the humble Nissan Leaf available in Australia, Nissan wants electric cars to make up major parts of its sales in Europe, Japan and China by 2026. By that year, the company wants 75 per cent of sales in Europe, 55 per cent of sales in Japan and 40 per cent of sales in China to be electric vehicles. The company plans to sell 40 per cent of its stock as EVs in the U.S. by 2030. The company is also ending the development of internal combustion engines in all markets except the U.S. Hopefully this flows through to Australia.
Honda
Last on our list is Honda, which wants to release 30 electric vehicle models by 2030 (the electric Honda-e is available in Australia).
The company wants to phase out ICE vehicles by 2040.
Interested in picking up an electric vehicle? Here’s what is available now in Australia and here’s what we’re expecting to hit our shores soon.