While Australians continue to buy electric vehicles (EV) and plug-in hybrids (PHEV) in record-breaking numbers, one region of Australia is accelerating the uptake.

Nationally, almost one in every four new cars sold in June was an EV while plug-in hybrids accounted for around 12 per cent of new car registrations. That translates to around 37 per cent of the new car market in June, according to data obtained from the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries and the Electric Vehicle Council.

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Leading the way, certainly in percentage terms, is the Australian Capital Territory where 55 per cent of all new registrations in June were either an EV or PHEV. 

That makes the ACT the first state or territory in Australia where plug-in vehicles have outsold internal combustion vehicles (ICE).

According to data released by the ACT government’s Zero Emissions Vehicle Strategy Implementation initiative, 43 per cent of all new car registrations in June were full battery-electric while plug-in hybrids accounted for a further 12 per cent.

Of course, the raw numbers are low, with the ACT posting a total of 2169 sales across all types of vehicles for the month. Nationally, Australians bought just over 140,000 new cars in June.

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The ACT has long been at the pointy end of EV uptake, thanks in part to generous government incentives dating back to 2015 including stamp duty waivers, lower registration fees, zero interest loans and even road privileges where EVs are able use T2 and T3 transit lanes regardless of the number of occupants.

According to government data, by the end of June there were over 17,000 registered electric vehicles on ACT’s roads, accounting for around five per cent of all registered vehicles. That’s double the national average which sits at around two per cent, according to the most recent data from the Electric Vehicle Council.