Dec 12, 2024 by admin

Hybrid vehicles are enjoying a significant rise in sales in Australia, and together with electric (EV) and plug-in hybrid vehicles (PHEVs) they’re helping to drive down CO2 emissions in the new car market.

However, a new Australian Government report shows we’re still lagging behind Europe and even the United States, despite a rise in popularity for more environmentally friendly models.

The National Transport Commission (NTC) released its Light Vehicle Emissions Intensity in Australia: Trends Over Time report earlier this week, not only detailing the fleet emissions of new vehicles sold in 2023 but also the local car parc of almost 17 million cars, SUVs, utes and vans.

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According to the NTC, the 1,165,008 new light vehicles sold in 2023 had an average emissions intensity of 165.2 grams per kilometre (g/km).

This represented a five per cent year-on-year decrease in the new vehicle fleet’s emissions, the largest since records were first kept in 2002, when the average emissions were 252.4g/km.

Combining the emissions of all light vehicles registered since 2002, Australia’s car parc emits 193.7g/km, thanks largely to advancements in technology made within the past decade.

Despite this significant year-on-year emissions reduction, Australia is still a long way off what other markets are achieving.

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The NTC report details that 29 European countries – including all 27 European Union member states plus Norway and Iceland – have an emissions intensity of 107g/km, though this doesn’t include utes and vans.

With these two vehicle types excluded, Australia’s new vehicle emissions drop to 150g/km. Utes and vans accounted for almost 24 per cent of new light vehicle sales in 2023, leading to the significant emissions reduction when they’re not included.

The NTC claims our emissions intensity is also higher than the US and Canada, though it didn’t provide specific figures for these two markets.

It noted the comparatively low emissions in Europe have been borne out of stricter standards and a higher rate of EV adoption, with Australia lagging behind the region.

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However, it’s worth noting next year’s figures may change and lead to a further drop in Australia’s new vehicle fleet emissions, due to an increase in hybrid, EV and PHEV sales in 2024.

In the first 11 months of 2024 (January to November), 158,242 traditional hybrid vehicles have been sold in Australia, accounting for more than 14 per cent of the overall market and a significant 80 per cent increase on last year’s sales figures.

Across the same period, 82,960 EVs have been sold (up 2.8 per cent year-on-year), representing 7.3 per cent of new vehicle sales.

PHEVs, meanwhile, account for just 1.8 per cent of new-vehicle sales locally with 20,543 examples sold so far this year, but their sales growth is currently 100 per cent higher than in the same period last year.

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Sales of petrol and diesel light vehicles meanwhile have fallen by 11.1 per cent and 0.8 per cent, respectively, however they each account for 45.2 and 31.7 per cent of the overall market each.

This too could be set to change in the near future, as the New Vehicle Efficiency Standard (NVES) will come into effect on January 1, 2025.

The NVES will effectively punish carmakers for not reaching emissions targets set by the government, however financial penalties won’t come into effect until July 1, 2025.

These emissions targets, also measured in g/km of CO2, will lower every year, forcing carmakers to sell greater volumes of low-emitting models to offset heavier-polluting vehicles.

You can view the full NTC report here.