Electric vehicle sales hit two-year low in Australia as hybrid cars boom

There were 17,914 new battery electric vehicles sold in the first three months of this year, according to the Australian Automobile Association, equivalent to 6.3% of all new car sales. Photograph: Lukas Coch/AAP

The number of battery electric vehicles sold in Australia has fallen to its lowest level in two years as Australians continue buying traditional internal-combustion cars or turn to conventional and plug-in hybrids, according to the nation’s peak motoring body.

There were 17,914 new battery electric vehicles sold in the first three months of this year, according to the Australian Automobile Association (AAA), equivalent to 6.3% of all new car sales.