Power surge for region's electric cars

Sales of electric vehicles (EV) in the Moreton Bay Region have seen a seven-month power surge - with one suburb leading the charge.

Figures from the State Government show another 457 electric vehicles were registered to addresses in this region from July 2022-January 2023.

That took our tally from 618 to 1075, a 74 per cent increase, leaving us just behind Brisbane City South, up 75 per cent and Logan City 79 per cent.

Leading the way were Lockyer Valley, with 85 per cent increase and Somerset, up 100 per cent, but with smaller sales figures of 18 and 14 respectively.

North Lakes topped Moreton Bay Region’s suburbs for electric car registrations doubling its tally from 44 to 88 in just seven months.

Suburb-by-suburb figures

Mango Hill was second, up 82 per cent from 23 to 51, Redcliffe third up 70 per cent to 46 and Narangba fourth up 79 per cent to 45.

Scarborough rose 65 per cent to 38, Albany Creek 61 per cent to 37 and Warner up 62 per cent to 26.

While “encouraged” by the Australian EV fleet “almost doubling” in 2022, compared to 2021, the Electric Vehicle Council says “much more work” needs to be done.

The EVC’s Industry Recap 2022 said: “EVs still represent less than 0.5 per cent of Australia’s passenger and light commercial vehicle fleet.

“We still significantly trail the global average, which is currently estimated to have been between 12-14 per cent in 2022.

Figures for SEQ councils

“There are hundreds of EV models available overseas yet only are fraction are being supplied to Australia mainly because we do not have a Fuel Efficiency Standard (FES).”

An FES would require manufacturers to reduce the amount of pollution from vehicles they sell – and increase electric car sales.

The EVC also called for “significant efforts” by Australian governments and industry to reach a near 100 per cent zero-emission fleet by 2050 and climate targets.

Nationally, the EVC said top 10 models of electric vehicles sold in 2022 were: Tesla Model 3 10,877 sales, Tesla Model Y 8717, BYD Atto 3 2113, MG HS + PHEV 1554, Polestar 2 1524, MG ZS EV 1119, Hyundai Kona 1096, Volvo XC40 Recharge 983, Mitsubishi Eclipse Cross 926, Hyundai Ioniq 5 756.

A Transport and Main Roads (TMR) spokesperson said the State Government is “ensuring demand will be met over coming years through several initiatives”.

Queensland's west is getting 24 new EV charging sites under the QESH (Queensland Electric Super Highway) and a charging site has opened in Stanthorpe.

When finished the QESH will provide 55 fast-charging locations, said the TMR spokesperson.

“A key purpose was to act as a catalyst for private investment in similar charging infrastructure across the state,” the TMR spokesperson added.

“We are now seeing increasing public charging stations coming online across Queensland including at shopping centres, car parks and tourist locations.

Queensland's Zero Emission Vehicle Strategy 2022–2032 (ZEV Strategy) is supported by a $45 million program of rebates to make EVs more affordable and $10 million co-funding for charging infrastructure.