Background: Electric vehicles really started gaining traction in Australia back in December 2014 when Tesla made its big debut. Since then, the EV scene has grown fast - Tesla, BYD, Polestar and a whole lineup of newcomers (and existing brands) showing off their electric-wares.

What happened: Recently, the Australian Automobile Association (AAA) put nine popular EV models to the test. And not a single one hit its advertised driving range.

• MG’s MG4 came out as the biggest underperformer, falling short by 31%.
• Tesla’s Model Y performed the best, missing its promised range by only 3%.

What else: Despite strong momentum in EV adoption, the gap between “promised range” and “real-world range” isn’t helping with Australia’s ongoing range-anxiety problem.

What's the key learning?

💡Nothing dents a fast-growing market like a gap between what’s promised and what’s delivered.
When advertised ranges fall short in real-world testing, consumer confidence takes the hit.

💡Range anxiety is still the biggest psychological hurdle for Aussies thinking about going electric. It’s that persistent “Will I actually get home?” worry that hurts momentum.

💡The market is still growing. In fact, battery-electric vehicles now account for 9.7% of all new car sales, the highest share on record. But until EV makers and regulators can deliver consistency on real-world performance, adoption will grow slower than it could.