1 in 4 Australians would consider an EV as their next vehicle, and purchase price is by far the biggest factor deciding it
Using this data story? Please reference the source using one of the formats below.
Conjointly. (July 2026). 1 in 4 Australians would consider an EV as their next vehicle, and purchase price is by far the biggest factor deciding it. https://brandtracker.conjointly.com/data-stories/ev/. Retrieved .
Conjointly. "1 in 4 Australians would consider an EV as their next vehicle, and purchase price is by far the biggest factor deciding it." Brand Tracker by Conjointly, July 2026, https://brandtracker.conjointly.com/data-stories/ev/. Accessed .
Conjointly. "1 in 4 Australians would consider an EV as their next vehicle, and purchase price is by far the biggest factor deciding it." Brand Tracker by Conjointly. July 2026. https://brandtracker.conjointly.com/data-stories/ev/. Accessed .
Conjointly surveyed 1,464 Australian adults in the July 2026 Brand Tracker wave, covering two new questions about electric vehicles (EVs):
- how likely they are to buy an EV as their next vehicle, and
- what actually drives that decision.
Only 27% of Australians say they are somewhat or very likely to buy an EV (battery electric or plug-in hybrid) as their next vehicle, while 48% say it’s unlikely or something they’d never do. A further 25% are undecided.
Men are more open to the idea than women, and enthusiasm falls sharply with age: 34% of under-30s are open to an EV, compared with just 18% of over-55s, 44% of whom rule it out completely. When Australians do weigh up the decision, purchase price towers over every other consideration, picked as the single biggest factor by 27% of respondents, more than three times the next factors. Price matters even more to women than men, and grows steadily more important with age. For under-30s, though, price’s grip loosens: it’s followed closely by environmental impact.
Would Australians plug in?
27% of Australians say they’re somewhat or very likely to buy an EV as their next vehicle, and 48% say they’re unlikely to, or never would.
Question 1: How likely are you to purchase an EV (battery electric or plug-in hybrid) as your next vehicle?
Results by segment
The line bar marks the overall average for "somewhat or very likely" (27%).
Gender
(n = 645)
(n = 819)
Age
(n = 228)
(n = 729)
(n = 507)
Men are more likely than women to say they’d buy an EV next (30% vs 25%), and the big gap also sits at the negative end: 50% of women say it’s unlikely or something they’d never do, against 45% of men. Openness falls steadily with age. Under-30s lead on enthusiasm (34% likely) and are the only segment where “likely” outnumbers “unlikely” (34% vs 33%). By contrast, nearly half of over-55s (44%) rule out an EV outright as “very unlikely or never”, and only 18% say they’re likely to buy one, the lowest of any segment.
Factors that influence decisions to buy an EV
27% of Australians say purchase price is the No. 1 factor in their decision to buy an EV, more than three times any other factor.
Question 2: Please rank the factors that influence your decision to buy an EV, according to how much each makes you more or less likely to purchase one.
Purchase price isn’t just the most-picked number one factor, it’s in a different league entirely: at 27%, it’s chosen as the top driver roughly three times as often as the next cluster of factors (environmental impact, trust in EV technology, and running costs, each around 9%). Range and battery technology and charging infrastructure sit just behind (7% each), while the “soft” factors, recommendations from family or friends (4%) and delivery or waiting times (2%), barely register as anyone’s number one concern.
Results by segment
% of each segment ranking the factor as their No. 1 driver.
(n=645)
(n=819)
(n=228)
(n=729)
(n=507)
| Male (n=645) | Female (n=819) | Under 30 (n=228) | 30–55 (n=729) | Over 55 (n=507) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Purchase price | 24% | 30% | 19% | 25% | 34% |
| Environmental impact | 9% | 9% | 11% | 8% | 9% |
| Trust in EV technology | 8% | 9% | 9% | 10% | 7% |
| Running and maintenance costs | 8% | 9% | 7% | 9% | 9% |
| Range and battery technology | 10% | 5% | 6% | 7% | 9% |
| Charging infrastructure | 7% | 7% | 8% | 9% | 6% |
| Performance and driving experience | 7% | 6% | 8% | 7% | 5% |
| Resale value | 6% | 5% | 8% | 5% | 5% |
| Brand and model availability | 6% | 5% | 6% | 5% | 4% |
| Government rebates or incentives | 5% | 6% | 5% | 4% | 6% |
| Practical fit | 5% | 4% | 5% | 6% | 3% |
| Recommendation from family/friends | 3% | 4% | 5% | 3% | 4% |
| Delivery and waiting times | 2% | 2% | 4% | 3% | 1% |
Purchase price is a bigger driver for women than men, and it grows more important with age: almost double for over-55s (34%) versus under-30s (19%). Range and battery technology drive more men than women (10% vs 5%). Environmental impact is a much closer second to price for under-30s than for any other segment.
