One in every four motorists will consider swapping their main vehicle for an electric car and one in three are weighing up whether to buy a low-emission vehicle, according to a new study.
The survey of more than 2000 Australian drivers, released on Thursday, also found fewer people were ruling out electric vehicles due to their price, and two in three think governments should deliver incentives to make them more affordable.
But the Australian Automotive Dealer Association that commissioned the study said it showed most consumers would still purchase an SUV or ute for their next vehicle, which were less likely to be electric and could be affected by the federal government's proposed New Vehicle Efficiency Standard.
The EV and Hybrid Vehicle Insights Report, conducted by Zing Insights, found the number of Australians who would consider buying an electric car as their daily driver had risen from 21 to 25 per cent over the past year, and 37 per cent planned to weigh up whether to buy an EV.
Fewer drivers also said they were opposed electric cars due to their purchase prices, and more respondents said were willing to pay a premium for the technology.
Drivers in Sydney, Canberra, Brisbane and Melbourne were most likely to consider buying an EV, the survey found, and the vehicles were most popular in inner metro areas (47 per cent) compared to rural settings (20 per cent).
AADA chief executive James Voortman said the survey showed sentiment towards electric vehicle was improving but their popularity had yet to overtake that of petrol or diesel vehicles.
"Most buyers are looking at a non-electric SUV or ute as their next vehicle," he said.
"This is no surprise because these are the vehicles Australians love but are also the cars most at risk of an overly aggressive vehicle emissions standard."
Mr Voortman, who previously criticised the government's proposed fuel-efficiency standard, said the survey's findings proved launching an ambitious carbon reduction target could be risky.
"We urge the government to study this survey and adopt an emissions policy which reduces vehicle emissions in a way that protects affordability, choice and the local automotive industry," he said.
A fuel-efficiency standard, expected to start in January next year, would set an emissions target across an car brand's entire fleet, encouraging automakers to import more efficient, hybrid and electric vehicles to balance the high-polluting models they sold.
Electric Vehicle Council chief executive Behyad Jafari said the survey's findings proved more Australians wanted to buy electric cars and introducing a fuel-efficiency standard could help them achieve it.
"Last year we saw electric vehicle sales double and this research shows even more people are looking to buy an electric vehicle than people who are buying them," he said.
"It seems to show that three times as many people want to buy EVs so that tells me that introducing a very strong New Vehicle Efficiency Standard is exactly the right move."
Mr Jafari said an emissions standard would not "stop anyone from buying SUVs and utes," and had not done so in any other country, including the US and UK.
