There’s a common belief that EVs aren’t suited to Australia’s regional areas due to worries that they lack the range – and the country lacks the charging infrastructure – to deal with regular long-distance driving. New figures have put the lie to that, however.

Pickles, which bills itself as the nation’s leading marketplace for used vehicles, has revealed that regional buyers now make up almost a third of the EVs it sells – and that number is rising. 

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The company’s latest quarterly report found that regional customers accounted for 32 per cent of EVs shifted in the 2026 financial year, which is a significant increase on the 27 per cent figure for FY2025. 

Pickles is at pains to point out that the uplift “is not simply a shift in buyer mix”, revealing that the number of EVs bought by Aussies in regional areas increased by approximately 130 per cent in that period, with bidding on EV auctions from people in those areas shooting up by 124 per cent.

The report also found that buyers in NSW, Victoria and Queensland are driving the change, especially in the Sunshine State, where almost half of Pickles’ EV sales were snapped up by regional motorists. That figure was less than 20 per cent in FY2025.

The shift isn’t restricted to private buyers, either, with the company finding that regional dealers purchased 26 per cent of its used EVs in FY26, up from 17 per cent in FY25. Overall growth in used EVs is also very strong, with record sales for Pickles in Q3 and September ranking as the group’s biggest month ever for electric vehicle business.

“Regional private buyers buying used EVs is one thing, but dealers increasing their participation tells us they’re becoming more confident they can put these vehicles in their yards and find a private buyer,” said Brendon Green, general manager of automotive solutions at Pickles.

“For residual values, the depth of the buyer pool matters. If more dealers and end-user buyers are prepared to compete for used EVs, regardless of postcode, that is a positive development for the secondary market.”