Electric age has finally arrived in Australia and it's not going away, and time's up for diesel and petrol dinosaurs | Opinion

You can almost feel the warmth, can’t you? You know, as Australia’s many thousands of EV owners bask in their collective smugness as fuel prices shoot skyward and the world continues its hell-in-a handbasket spiral.

Sure, their smiles looked a little strained as the queues for public chargers grew and grew over the Easter break, but that aside, you’d have to declare the EV faithful the winners over the past couple of weeks.

I spoke to someone from Tesla the other day who told me demand had been running hot, possibly hotter than ever before, since fuel costs began spiking. One of the Korean brands told me that almost all enquiry is focused on its EV models. And in March, EV sales were 86.2 per cent higher than they were in the same month last year.

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That staggering result inspired FCAI (the organisation that releases the monthly sales data) Chief Executive, Tony Weber, to ponder if “it is too early to determine whether this represents a structural shift in the market. More consumers are considering EVs due to the disruption to fuel supply caused by conflict in the Middle East, along with the review into the fringe benefits tax concession for EVs.”

I can answer that for Mr Weber. It is permanent. And if for some reason it’s not, then Australian consumers need their heads read.

My favourite question about EV take up (admittedly not one phrased by me) is to imagine a world where the EV came first, and then, some years later, some bright spark pitched a shift to internal combustion engines.

“It will be amazing,” they would say. “We only need to replace the low-maintenance electric motor, with its handful of moving parts, with this engine, which has about 2000. Sure, the servicing needed will be much higher, we will need to fill it with oil, and we’ll need to turn fossils into a very expensive, volatile — and, as it turns out, very price sensitive — fuel source. But you will get a louder, slower, harsher and more annoying vehicle as a result.

2026 Tesla Model Y L

"And the best part is refuelling them. You know how you currently plug in at home, sometimes using nothing but sunshine? Well now you get to go to a petrol station and pay whatever extortionate number is on the board, and probably be muscled into buying two Kit Kats for a dollar by the person behind the counter."

How do you honestly think that conversation would go?

Now, I'm not suggesting each and every vehicle in Australia should be an EV. My magic wand would grant an exemption to most supercars, and to a handful of sportcars and hot hatches. Heavy trucking and regional areas would get a pass, too. As would anyone needing to do lots of heavy-duty towing. Some utes get a pass, too. But let's be honest, there are plenty of dual-cab owners who have never carried anything heavier than a bag of groceries.

2026 Tesla Model Y L

Everyone else? Electric works, believe me. If you drive a beige small car, an SUV of any size, live in a city (which is most of us), and especially if you have access to home charging, an EV is likely the right fit.

And it's not just me that thinks so. Look at CarsGuide's Car of The Year awards. Best Small Car Under $50k? Kia EV3. Best Medium SUV Under $60k? Zeekr 7X. Best Medium SUV Under $130k? Hyundai Ioniq 5. Best Ute? The BYD Shark 6. All either electric or partly electric, and all among the very best vehicles in the country.

So if you're not on board the EV train by now, the problem is very likely with you.