New research shows that while the global fuel crisis is accelerating Australians’ interest in electric vehicles (EVs), more EV charging infrastructure is needed before electric vehicles become mainstream.
Kempower’s Australian Infrastructure Survey found that 88% of people surveyed believed more EV charging infrastructure was needed before EVs could become mainstream—a view shared by 96% of current EV drivers.
Kempower director of new markets Carlo Cecchi said, “Australians overwhelmingly want to make the switch to EVs, but the infrastructure simply isn’t keeping up. Demand is accelerating, but the gap between supply and what drivers actually need is widening.
“In a market as complex as Australia, defined by vast distances and grid limitations, getting infrastructure right is critical to keeping the transition on track.”
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Wrong place, wrong pace
Australia’s EV transition is no longer just about building more chargers, but placing them where Australians actually live, work and shop.
More than eight in 10 Australians (81%) believe businesses and offices should offer more EV charging stations, while 62% say chargers at shopping centres would be most useful, followed by workplaces (54%), supermarkets (48%) and public carparks (46%).
Australian drivers are also increasingly changing how, and where, they shop around, refuelling and charging habits. Two-thirds of Australian drivers (65%) now plan their convenience shopping around when they need to refuel or recharge their cars, while 57% of Australian EV drivers say they would be more likely to do their grocery shopping at a venue if convenient EV charging options were available nearby.
Access and reliability are key
According to the report, EV infrastructure access varies widely across the nation with 72% of Queensland drivers reported not enough chargers, while only 25% of NSW drivers reported the same issue.
EV infrastructure reliability varies significantly across Australia, with 57% of drivers in Western Australia and 50% in South Australia experiencing EV charging stations that were out of order or poorly maintained, compared to just 24% of drivers in Victoria.
These gaps are eroding trust in public charging. Nearly half of Australians say they are concerned about the reliability of EV charging infrastructure (48%) and access to available chargers (45%), reinforcing the risk that poor charging experiences today is slowing adoption of EVs.
While 96% of non-EV drivers and 97% of EV drivers saying public chargers are essential. nearly a third of EV drivers (30%) experience a lack of long-distance charging infrastructure and 25% of Australian EV drivers saying they have experienced a lack of charging stations in rural areas.
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Cecchi said, “The Federal Government’s latest investment in EV infrastructure is a critical signal that Australia is serious about accelerating the transition. But funding alone won’t solve the challenge.
“If infrastructure isn’t deployed in the right locations, with the right reliability and scalability, we risk turning a once-in-a-generation opportunity into a costly investment that fails to deliver for Australian drivers.”
The research was commissioned by Kempower and conducted by Lonergan Research in accordance with the ISO 20252 standard.
