Why are low-income workers paying for rich people’s EVs?

April 19, 2026 — 5:01am

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Since the war in Iran kicked off six weeks ago, petrol has been the number one thing on Australians’ minds.

From prices to reserves and trying to guess how long this uncertainty will last, to what effects this week’s fire at a refinery in Geelong will have, it’s a topic that is virtually inescapable right now as households brace for another financial gut punch.

It’s unsurprising, then, that our national appetite for electric vehicles is currently at a record high. But while the promise of saving money and being environmentally friendly in switching to an EV is certainly appealing to most of us, the reality of who is making the switch shows that the people reaping the financial benefits from making the switch aren’t those who actually need it the most.

In March, 15,839 new EVs were sold in Australia, making up 14.6 per cent of all car sales. That might not sound like all that much, but it’s a 42 per cent rise from their overall market share in February.

Even more significantly, it came at a time when overall new vehicle sales are falling 2.6 per cent year-on-year and while sales on the Ford Ranger ute, which uses diesel and is the country’s most popular car, fell 10 per cent.

According to sales data from Autograb, the number of sales for one MG model grew by 329.8 per cent (from 114 sales to 490). Sales among the MG S5 model, as well as the Kia EV5, had similar growth, followed by models from BMW, Polestar, BYD and Tesla.

Under this scheme as it currently stands, the people who need financial support the least are getting the most.

That so many people are making the........

© Brisbane Times