Sales of hybrid vehicles are up 88% – is it time to trade-in your petrol car?

Australian consumers are increasingly looking to hybrid power as an alternative source, according to the latest VFACTS report.

With increasing cost-of-living pressures and jaw-dropping fuel bowser prices now the norm, consumers seem to be looking at ways to combat this financial burden – and ridding their vehicles of combustion power seems to be an alluring method.

According to the July 2024 VFACTS report, a total of 18,039 hybrid vehicles were sold in July. At the same time last year (July 2023) that figure was 9574, an increase of 8465 sales or a whopping +88.4 per cent.

Petrol sales, by comparison, remain higher (42,027 petrol variants sold in July 2024) but have dipped compared to last year (48,227 sales in July 2023), representing a decline of 6200 sales or -12.9 per cent. It’s a bit different for diesel-powered vehicles, with sales increasing from 27,791 (July, 2023) to 29,263 (July, 2024), a jump of 1472 units or +5.3 per cent.

PHEV sales grew from 965 (July 2023) to 2209 (July 2024), an increase of 1244 sales or +128.9 per cent.

“Consistent with trends in many overseas markets, sales of hybrid vehicles are up 88.4 per cent and plug-in hybrid vehicles are up 128.9 per cent compared with July 2023,” said FCAI Chief Executive, Tony Weber. “The hybrid performance is highlighted by the fact that the Toyota RAV4 was the top-selling vehicle for the month ahead of Ford Ranger and Toyota HiLux. Most RAV4 sales are hybrids.”

Sales of pure electric vehicles have dipped, down from 6846 in July 2023 to 4048 in July 2024.

“Sales of battery electric vehicles – with the inclusion of the reported Tesla (2592) and Polestar (103) results – are currently at 6.6 per cent of the market, down from 7.0 per cent in 2023,” Weber added.

The year-to-date numbers reinforce Australia’s transition away from petrol power. From January to July, 2023, a total of 342,509 petrol vehicles were sold – that number has shrunk to 314,783 sales over the same period in 2024 (a decline of 8.1 per cent). Diesel numbers may have increased from 203,730 to 223,122 (+9.5 per cent) over the same period, but hybrid numbers have skyrocketed from 9574 to 18,039 (+108.3 per cent).

Granted, the bulk of those hybrid sales are in the passenger and SUV markets, with only a fraction in the Light Commercial segment due to slim pickings. Still, at this time last year, zero hybrids we sold year-to-date. In 2024, a total of 311 hybrid vehicles have been sold in the segment so far.

Passenger sales: Year-to-date

SUV sales: Year-to-date

LCV sales: Year-to-date

Is it time to trade in your ICE vehicle? Let us know in the comments below!