Interest in electric vehicles continues to accelerate in Australia, with new research from insurance comparison company MoneySuperMarket showing online searches have surged as more motorists consider making the switch from petrol and diesel-powered cars.

According to the company’s latest analysis, Google searches for the term “electric vehicles” in Australia increased by 70 per cent over the 12 months to April 2026. The findings come as Electric Vehicle Council figures show Australians purchased more battery-electric vehicles during the first six months of 2026 than in the whole of 2025, highlighting the market’s rapid growth.

MoneySuperMarket analysed Google search volumes for more than 200 electric vehicle models across more than 200 countries to determine which EVs generated the greatest consumer interest.

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In Australia, the BYD Sealion 7 (above) emerged as the country’s most searched electric vehicle, attracting 874,500 Google searches over the past year. It finished comfortably ahead of the Tesla Model Y on 717,100 searches, with the BYD Seal rounding out the top three on 450,300.

BYD’s growing influence was evident throughout the rankings, with five of the top 10 most searched EVs in Australia wearing the Chinese brand’s badge. Alongside the Sealion 7 and Seal, the Atto 3, Sealion 6 and Dolphin all featured in the top 10.

Tesla placed two vehicles in the list with the Model Y and Model 3, while Kia also had a strong showing through the EV5 and EV3. Subaru’s forthcoming all-electric e-Outback was another surprise performer, ranking sixth despite not yet reaching Australian showrooms.

Across Australia’s top 10 electric vehicles, motorists generated more than 4.27 million Google searches between April 2025 and April 2026.

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Globally, however, Tesla remained the dominant brand. The Tesla Model Y (above) topped worldwide search rankings with more than 25.1 million searches, followed by the Tesla Model 3 and BYD Seal. Tesla models ranked as the most searched EV in 75 of the 200 countries analysed, while BYD claimed top spot in 50 countries.

The research also found worldwide Google searches for “electric cars” increased by 168 per cent over the past year, underlining growing consumer interest in battery-powered vehicles despite slowing sales growth in some established EV markets.

Australia’s 10 most searched electric vehicles (April 2025-April 2026)

1BYD Sealion 7874,500 searches
2Tesla Model Y717,100
3BYD Seal450,300
4BYD Atto 3393,000
5BYD Sealion 6357,000
6Subaru e-Outback337,200
7Kia EV5302,200
8Tesla Model 3300,500
9BYD Dolphin299,200
10Kia EV3244,500