(Yicai) Dec. 7 -- Australia’s best-selling electric vehicle brands are Tesla and BYD, while Chinese auto startups are growing quickly in the market, according to the chief commercial representative of the Shenzhen bureau of an Australian government agency.

New energy vehicles are in short supply in Australia as many consumers need to wait for a year or even 18 months to get one, Shanghai Securities News reported today, citing Lin Huaili from the Australian Trade and Investment Commission in Shenzhen.

To this end, Australia is promoting the market’s development by expanding supply, stimulating demand, and promoting infrastructure, Lin said at an industry forum in the Chinese city of Haikou.

Electric vehicle sales in Australia exceeded 46,620 in the first half, surpassing those for the whole of last year, while making up 8 percent of all new car sales in the country, Australia’s Electric Vehicle Council said in a July report. In comparison, NEVs accounted for less than 4 percent of all car sales in 2022.

This year, Tesla's Model Y, Model 3, and BYD’s Atto 3 were the top three NEV models sold in Australia, with 14,002, 11,575, and 6,196 units shipped, respectively, per the council’s report. The three models made up over 68 percent of Australia’s NEV market.

More BYDs are expected to be spotted down under, as the carmaker signed a supply deal with Uber for 10,000 Atto 3s in October. Costing an average CNY150,000 (USD20,959) in China, the electric sport utility vehicle has a minimum price of about AUD45,000 (USD29,651) in Australia after taking shipping costs, tariffs, and distributor margins into account.

Editor: Emmi Laine