Australian sales of electric vehicles (EVs) nearly doubled in 2023 as global venture financing for battery-related technologies has increased significantly since 2020.

EV sales jumped from 3.2% in 2022 to 7.2% of cars sold in Australia in 2023 according to the country’s Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries (FCAI), a representative organisation for the automotive industry. 

Despite this increase in sales, Australia’s EV adoption continues to lag behind the US, UK and Germany. Only 0.6% of the cars on Australia’s roads are electric, whilst 4% of the cars in Germany are electric. 

The FCAI stated that it was confident that Australia’s government would introduce future legislation on the sales of combustible engine vehicles. Many governments around the world, such as the UK, have introduced laws to phase out the sale of combustible engines.  

“For more than a decade, the FCAI has been encouraging Governments to introduce a Fuel Efficiency Standard,” stated FCAI chief executive Tony Weber, “Now we have the process underway it’s critical that the Federal government takes time the to get it right. That is essential for environmental outcomes and for consumers.” 

In its 2023 thematic intelligence report into the global battery market, research and analyst company GlobalData forecast a global battery shortage as soon as 2025 due to this high uptake of EVs. 

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Industry investment into new materials and battery recycling is expected to prevent this shortage from becoming a sustained threat. 

GlobalData found that battery venture financing has since boomed significantly after 2020, noting that the volume of deals nearly doubled between 2021 and 2022. However, venture financing saw a small decline from 2022 to 2023.  

Source: GlobalData

The value of these deals has also experienced growth, increasing by 406% between 2020 and 2021 and then by 25% between 2021 and 2022. However, the value of deals fell somewhat between 2022 and 2023.

GlobalData identified battery recycling as the new major theme of VC deals in the near future as countries struggle with material shortages. 

Geopolitical tensions are also expected to heighten as import controls of these battery materials are introduced. 

South Korea reported in October that it was experiencing shortages of graphite, used in the battery anodes of EVs, after new import regulations from China restricted its flow of the material. 

Our signals coverage is powered by GlobalData’s Thematic Engine, which tags millions of data items across six alternative datasets — patents, jobs, deals, company filings, social media mentions and news — to themes, sectors and companies. These signals enhance our predictive capabilities, helping us to identify the most disruptive threats across each of the sectors we cover and the companies best placed to succeed.