Tesla fast chargers installed at South Point, Tuggeranong as Electric Vehicle Council data reveals sales increasing

Six fast chargers have been installed at South Point Shopping Centre, capable of providing a Tesla up to 275 kilometres of range in 15 minutes.

Tesla Owner's Club representative Ross Hetherington said the nearest fast-charging facilities for residents in Canberra's south had previously been Pialligo Estate, Majura Park and Dairy Road.

He said retrofitting apartments with fast-charging facilities was expensive, which made public facilities crucial as sales surge.

"We're going to see a big transition over the next 12 months because there's going to be a lot more EVs on the roads," Mr Hetherington said.

"Charging infrastructure is going to start to come under stress because at the moment, there's just not enough there."

The ACT leads Australia in making the transition to EVs, with 9.5 per cent of all new car sales now electric, data from the Electric Vehicle Council shows.

The ACT drew with NSW as leading the nation in terms of government policy to incentivise EV use. The council scored the two jurisdictions eight out of 10. Tasmania was at the back of the pack with three out of 10.

The government has pledged to ensure there are 180 public electric vehicle chargers in the territory by 2025, ahead of banning the sale of new internal combustion cars from 2035.

Tesla owner Jude Burger said the ACT government had made the right noises but locations and timeframes for installation remained scarce.

"If it's true that 18 per cent of new cars bought in Canberra last month were electric vehicles, your demand for fast-charging stations is going to be very significant very soon," she said.

Nationally, the market share of EVs grew 65 per cent in 2022, but it is still only just above 3 per cent of new car sales.

The council's head of policy, Jake Whitehead, said Australia still needed a strong, national EV strategy to catch up to the rest of the world.

Dr Whitehead said 26 per cent of new cars sold in Germany were electric, and that rate was 19 per cent in the UK and 13 per cent in California.

"The global average is 8.6 per cent so Australia has a long, long way to come," Dr Whitehead said.

Tesla remained the most popular option for buyers across Australia. The Model 3 accounts for 33 per cent of EV sales and costs just under $68,000 in the ACT.

Tesla's Model Y was the second most popular option, followed by the MG HS, then the Lexus NX450H.

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Dr Whitehead said because Australian governments had lagged behind the world on EV policy, the country was still something of an afterthought for global EV manufacturers.

"Australian consumers have a smaller range of EVs to choose from and they are also being forced to wait for many months or even years to take delivery of new vehicles," he said.

"We know from all the research that Australians are keen to get behind the wheel of an EV, but they just aren't getting the access that other markets get.

"The good news is the new federal government understands the opportunities of EVs and is working on a genuine EV strategy."

Dr Whitehead said fuel efficiency standards should be introduced nationally.

"If Australia does not introduce fuel efficiency standards on par with the EU and the US we will continue to lag the world by a huge margin," he said.

"Given transport makes up 19 per cent of Australia's emissions we also can't say we're serious about achieving our 2030 emission reduction target without fuel efficiency standards."

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