Who is buying electric vehicles in Australia? A study of early adopters

Figures & data

Figure 1. A basic theoretical framework for electric vehicle adoption and Tesla ownership.

Table 1. Selected characteristics of Tesla and non-Tesla models.

Make	Model	Recommended retail price (RRP) $^a	Battery range (Kilometre)^b	Battery (kWh)^b	Number of respondents
Tesla	Model S Long range	133,175	600	100	219
	Model X Long range	157,875	597	100
	Model 3 Standard	66,900	423	50–75
Nissan	Leaf	49,990	270	40	32
Hyundai	Kona Elite	60,740	305	39.2	53
Mitsubishi	iMieV^c Outlander (PHEV)	48,800 52,490	160 54 ^d	16 12	24
BMW	I3	68,700	260	42.2	8
Others^e					12
Total					348

Note: ^aRedbook prices 2020. The recommended retail price is determined by the manufacturer and excludes stamp duty and other government charges.

^b EV battery and battery range are from the EVspecifications (specifications, news and comparisons) site: https://www.evspecifications.com/en/model/2bc417. Last accessed 26/02/2024.

^c No longer available for sale.

^d Source: https://www.greenvehicleguide.gov.au/Vehicle/ViewMatchingVariants?vehicleDisplayId = 30682. Last accessed 26/02/2024.

^e Others include Audi, Jaguar, Renault, Toyota, Vectric and Volvo.

Table 2. Socio-demographic characteristics of the groups.

Characteristics	Feature	Tesla	Non-Tesla	Sample	Queensland
Gender	Female	12	22	16	51^a
	Male	88	77	84	49 ^a
	Other	0	0	0
	Prefer not to answer	0	2	1
	No. of observations	219	128	347
	Chi square	10.39	**
Age	Mean ± SD	48 ± 12	53 ± 13	49 ± 13	Median age: 37 ^a
	No. of observations	219	128	347
	Kolmogorov-Smirnov	0.18	***
Annual income ^c	Mean ± SD	$172,628 ± $69,486	$132,267 ± $65,400	$157,791 ± $70,651	Median income: 72,904 ^a
	No. of observations	203	118	321
	Kolmogorov-Smirnov	0.28	***
Education	Some high school	3	2	3	34 ^b
	High school graduate, certificate or equivalent	10	8	9	18 ^b
	Trade/technical/vocational training	16	16	16	NA
	Professional degree	6	7	6	10 ^b
	Bachelor’s degree	47	41	45	13 ^b
	Master’s degree	12	12	12	3 ^b
	Doctorate degree	7	14	9	1 ^b
	No. of observations	219	129	348
	Chi square	5.41
Employment	Employed – working ≥ 40 hour/week	45	30	39	58 ^a
	Employed – working 1–39 hour/week	20	24	21	30 ^a
	Self-employed	18	21	19	NA
	Not employed – looking for work	1	1	1	8 ^a
	Not employed – not looking for work	0	1	1	5 ^a
	Retired	15	23	18	NA
	Other (Please specify)	0	1	1	NA
	No. of observations	219	129	348
	Chi square	11.47	*
Number of adults in the household	< 2	11	10	11	24 ^a
	2–4	83	85	84	67 ^a
	> 4	6	5	5	10 ^a
	No. of observations	218	129	347
	Chi square	0.47
Dwelling Type	Apartment/Unit	8	5	7	11 ^a
	Detached house	84	90	86	77 ^a
	Townhouse	7	5	6	11 ^a
	No. of observations	219	129	348
	Chi square	2.07
Location	City dweller	17	14	16	69 ^b
	Rural	14	19	16	9 ^b
	Suburban	68	67	68	22 ^b
	No. of observations	219	129	348
	Chi square	2.00
Number of vehicles (including EVs)	1	22	31	26	29 ^b
	2	43	40	42	32 ^b
	3	20	17	19	10 ^b
	More than 3	15	12	14	5 ^b
	No. of observations	218	129	347
	Chi square	3.16

Note: ^aSource: https://www.abs.gov.au/census/find-census-data/quickstats/2016/0 (last accessed 26/02/2024).

^b Source: https://www.abs.gov.au/statistics/microdata-tablebuilder/tablebuilder (last accessed 26/02/2024).

^c Sample average income was calculated by taking the mid-value in each income category used in the survey.

‘***’, ‘**’, ‘*’ refer to statistical significance at 1%, 5% and 10%, respectively.

Table 3. Motivating factors that encouraged early adopters to purchase an EV.

Factors	Level	Tesla	Non-Tesla	Sample	Chi square
EV emits low or zero carbon dioxide emissions	Agree	86	95	92	2.71
	Neutral	3	3	3
	Disagree	10	3	5
Ability to charge my EV at home	Agree	100	86	90	4.34
	Neutral	0	9	7
	Disagree	0	4	3
Savings on ownership costs (fuel, repairs and maintenance)	Agree	90	86	87	0.23
	Neutral	7	8	8
	Disagree	3	5	5
Driving range on a single charge	Agree	97	80	84	4.60	*
	Neutral	3	15	12
	Disagree	0	5	4
Latest and exciting technology	Agree	90	77	81	2.13
	Neutral	3	8	7
	Disagree	7	15	13
Fuel efficiency	Agree	76	81	79	1.52
	Neutral	24	16	19
	Disagree	0	3	2
Purchase cost	Agree	66	77	74	2.46
	Neutral	14	14	14
	Disagree	21	9	13
Vehicle performance in terms of acceleration and speed	Agree	97	59	70	14.03	***
	Neutral	0	19	14
	Disagree	3	22	17
No. of observation		29	74	103

Note: ‘***’, ‘**’, ‘*’ refer to statistical significance at 1%, 5% and 10%, respectively.

Question asked: When you purchased your electric vehicle what were the considerations that were relevant to you. Please indicate your level of agreement on each statement, ranging from 1 (Strongly Disagree) to 7 (Strongly Agree).

Chi-square tests are based on aggregated response categories.

Table 4. Source of information.

	% of respondents
	Tesla	Non-Tesla	Sample
I am a pro-technology enthusiast	33	22	29
I have a friend with an EV	4	2	3
I read about EVs in the media (e.g. social media)	2	1	2
I read/researched EVs on the internet	33	37	35
I read/researched about EVs in the Green Vehicle Guide	1	2	1
I test drove an EV	13	6	10
Other	13	30	20
No. of observation	205	132	337
Chi square	23.35	***

Note: ‘***’, ‘**’, ‘*’ refer to statistical significance at 1%, 5% and 10%, respectively.

Figure 2. Changes in the probability of ownership with income (a) and age (b).

Table 5. Results of the regression model.

	Model			Margin
	estimate	P	SE	estimate	P	SE
Income (log)	1.38	***	0.29
Age (log)	−0.90	*	0.53
Education (Bachelor and above = 1, otherwise = 0)	−0.23		0.30	−0.04		0.05
Number of adults (Base = 2 and less)
From 2 to 4	−0.30		0.47	−0.05		0.08
More than 4	−0.28		0.77	−0.05		0.14
Dwelling (Base = Apartment)
Detached	−0.46		0.60	−0.08		0.10
Townhouse	0.16		0.80	0.03		0.13
Residential location (Base = City dweller)
Rural	−0.07		0.54	−0.01		0.09
Suburban	−0.37		0.42	−0.07		0.07
Source of influence (Base = Other)
I am a pro-technology enthusiast	1.66	***	0.40	0.33	***	0.08
I have a friend with an EV	2.55	**	1.15	0.46	***	0.13
I read about EVs in the media (e.g. social media)	2.29	*	1.18	0.43	**	0.16
I read/researched EVs on the internet	0.94	**	0.36	0.20	**	0.07
I read/researched about EVs in the Green Vehicle Guide	−0.56		1.27	−0.11		0.23
I test drove an EV	2.39	***	0.63	0.44	***	0.09
Constant	−12.36	***	4.52
Number of observations	304
LR Chi square	71.93	***
AIC	363.30

Note: ‘***’, ‘**’, ‘*’ refer to statistical significance at 1%, 5% and 10%, respectively.

Figure 3. Distribution of respondents by distance travelled per day during weekdays (a) and weekends (b).

Table 6. Source of household electrical supply and time of charging.

		Tesla	Non-Tesla	Sample
Source of electricity supply	Combination of grid and solar PV	46	68	54
	Combination of grid, solar PV and batteries	20	14	17
	Solar photovoltaic (PV)	6	7	6
	Grid only	29	11	22
	No. of observations	122	73	195
	Chi square	11.83	***
Place of Charging (first preference)	Charging infrastructure/stations	19	11	16
	Home	69	75	71
	QLD Electric Superhighway	4	7	5
	Work	7	7	7
	No. of observations	190	110	300
	Chi square	4.62
Time of Charging	Morning: 6am to midday	12	8	11
	Afternoon: midday to 6pm	15	18	16
	Early evening 6-9pm	7	6	7
	Late night 9pm-6am	39	36	38
	All of the above	27	32	28
	No. of observations	206	118	324
	Chi square	2.52
Level of battery charge recharge or ‘top up'	< 10% level of charge	0	4	1
	10–50% level of charge	47	59	52
	50%+ level of charge	53	37	47
	No. of observations	206	120	326
	Chi square	15.00	***
Duration of charging at a charging station/public infrastructure?	20–40 minute	58	21	47
	More than 40 minute	18	74	34
	Up to 20 minute (fast charger)	24	5	19
	No. of observations	45	19	64
	Chi square	18.61	***

Note: ‘***’, ‘**’, ‘*’ refer to statistical significance at 1%, 5% and 10%, respectively.

Table 7. Level of satisfaction in driving range and charging.

Feature		Tesla	Non-Tesla	Tesla	Sample
Overall driving range	Satisfied	96	76	96	89
	Neutral	1	8	1	3
	Dissatisfied	3	16	3	8
	No. of observations	206	119	206	325
	Chi square	27.70	***
Battery charging time	Satisfied	94	81	94	89
	Neutral	2	12	2	6
	Dissatisfied	3	7	3	5
	No. of observations	204	116	204	320
	Chi square	14.83	***
Availability of charging infrastructure	Satisfied	73	40	73	61
	Neutral	6	16	6	10
	Dissatisfied	20	44	20	29
	No. of observations	205	119	205	324
	Chi square	34.33	***
Availability of fast charging infrastructure	Satisfied	65	29	65	52
	Neutral	5	23	5	12
	Dissatisfied	30	48	30	37
	No. of observations	206	120	206	326
	Chi square	44.44	***

Note: ‘***’, ‘**’, ‘*’ refer to statistical significance at 1%, 5% and 10%, respectively.