Fuel security, not record prices, driving EV sales surge: Polestar boss

The surge in Australian electric vehicle (EV) sales hasn’t been driven solely by record fuel prices at the pump, but rather concerns over potential fuel supply, according to Polestar Australia.

Speaking to CarExpert at the 2026 Melbourne motor show, the Swedish brand’s local managing director Scott Maynard said record fuel prices were not the key driver behind EVs reaching an unprecedented 14.6 per cent share of new-vehicle sales last month.

“When the government talks about a four-step fuel rationing plan and uses the word ‘rationing’ in that plan, and when the media picks up that there are some 200 servos across New South Wales that are now out of either petrol or diesel or both, I think that motivates people,” the Polestar boss said.

The latest April 13 figures from federal energy minister Chris Bowen show 202 service stations nationally had run out of diesel, while 99 had run dry of unleaded petrol – pushing people into EVs, according to Mr Maynard.

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“They [EV buyers] want to be independent of that supply of fuel and be able to energise a car from multiple sources, be as independent as solar, rather than being tied to the supply of oil from faraway lands.”

While reports have focused on the cost savings of charging an EV compared to filling a tank – with record prices pushing the cost of refuelling Australia’s best-selling vehicle, the Ford Ranger, with 80 litres of diesel towards $300 – Mr Maynard said running costs are not the primary motivator.

If they were, the sales boost would be centred on budget-priced EVs such as the BYD Atto 1, priced at $23,990 before on-road costs, rather than models within Polestar’s lineup, which starts at $62,400 before on-road costs for the 2026 Polestar 2 Standard range Single motor and extends to $146,700 for the Polestar 3 Performance Plus.

“The buyers that we’re talking to at the moment are motivated by fuel security, not price,” Mr Maynard told CarExpert.

“They want a degree of independence from oil supplies – so to be able to charge your car at home, to be able to charge your car from public charging, or even to be able to charge your car from rooftop solar for free, so really appealing at the moment to buyers of all types of cars.”

Polestar Australia recorded 160 sales in March, down from 182 a year earlier when it had three full-time models in showrooms, with the brand currently transitioning to a new model-year Polestar 3 with orders to be fulfilled.

For the first three months of 2026, local sales were up 19.6 per cent to 465, contributing to the 13,126 global deliveries in Polestar’s best first-quarter result to date.

“I think it was building before this [fuel crisis],” the Polestar Australia boss said.

“The market responded so quickly to the changes [in fuel supply and price] and I think it’s because it [buying an EV] was already in their mind.”

“We saw in quarter one [January to March] the sale of electric vehicles [in Australia] was up almost double, 88.9 per cent, against a total market that was down by 2.6 per cent.

“We saw the share of electric vehicles in Australia move up to be around 14.6 per cent market share – so there’s a groundswell of interest.” MORE: Explore the Polestar showroom