Electric car prices in Australia now match petrol models in popular segments

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Electric vehicles (EVs) have long had a price premium due to the cost of manufacturing their batteries, but now – for the first time – tailpipe emissions-free nameplates have come down to match petrol offerings.

While the MG 4 was among the first to drop its price last year, offered with a significantly reduced price of $30,990 drive-away for a limited time from September – matching, or even undercutting, similarly-sized models like the Toyota Corolla, Mazda 3, Volkswagen Golf and more – it is only now where a mid-size electric SUV has done the same.

Last week, Geely announced a final price for its EX5 to just $40,990 before on-road costs, making it the most affordable mid-size electric SUV in the country and undercutting the likes of the Toyota RAV4 Hybrid – Australia's best-selling model.

BYD has also come to the table this year, offering Essential grades of its Dolphin hatchback and Atto 3 small SUV, priced under $30,000 and $40,000 respectively.

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Of course, there is always the Tesla Model 3, priced from $54,900 plus on-road costs, and BYD Seal, now from $46,990, for those after a traditional four-door sedan.

This gives buyers an all-electric choice in the small SUV, mid-size SUV, mid-size sedan, and small hatchback segments priced around or under rivals with petrol engines.

And while some of these all-electric offerings don’t start under segment-leading models, they are close.

So close in fact, that when you start to move up the variant tree to get features you want, a base EV could be more affordable and still have the desirable features you are after.

MORE: Stunning last-minute 2025 Geely EX5 price cut to shake up electric car market

For reference, those four aforementioned segments of the market accounted for 467,062sales out of a total of 1,237,287last year, or around 38 per cent of the overall market.

Of course, electric options in the large SUV segment, off-road SUV market, and one-tonne ute category are still lagging behind petrol and diesel choices on price, due to all-electric models of that ilk being harder to justify in their use cases.

But with the market maturing, it might only be a matter of time before we see affordable, all-electric options pop up everywhere.

Small hatchback

Mid-size sedan

Small SUV

Mid-size SUV

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