Yahoo Finance Electric car game-changer helps Aussies avoid $94,000 mistake: 'Regret'
Buying an electric car is an expensive investment, but you can now rent one first to see if it's right for you.
A new system has been introduced in Australia to help drivers work out whether an electric vehicle (EV) is right for them. Before EVs started popping up on Aussie roads, it wasn't a huge leap of faith if you were buying a conventional petrol or diesel car.
But switching to an EV can be a big shake-up as drivers need to consider a range of changes to their lives. Can you charge it at home? Are there chargers nearby? What about significantly higher insurance costs?
That's where Chris Noone's service comes in.
"If you're just a normal individual trying to understand if an EV is right, it's actually a very hard question to answer, and there are also questions you don't even know how to ask," he told Yahoo Finance.
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He's the CEO of Carly Holdings, which has a fleet of 100 EVs that Aussies can rent for weeks or months at a time to see if the car is right for them.
A list of every EV available in Australia was published last month and it showed the prices ranged from $35,990 to $345,800, with the average being a little more than $94,000.
That average is a little skewed by the higher-end models, but it doesn't discount the fact that buying a brand-new EV can set you back a decent chunk of change.
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So the last thing you want to do is fork out tens of thousands of dollars, only to find out an electric car really isn't right for you. A limited test drive can be difficult to assess the real-life change you're preparing to make, Noone said.
"The ideal solution is to trial an electric vehicle for a month or two or three, take it through all the different usage scenarios, like charging at home, charging at work, charging on holidays, driving short distances, long distances, working out how much you're saving all of that," he told Yahoo Finance.
He said only then you'll be able to get all the answers about EVs specific to your life.
"What we are hearing is some people are buying battery electric vehicles and they're regretting the purchase," he told Yahoo Finance.
"Now, that's an expensive regret if you are stuck with the car that you really don't like or doesn't suit your needs."
How can I make sure if an electric car is right for me?
Using Carly, you can rent an EV for a minimum of a month and the price will vary depending on where you live and the model you want.
For example, if you're based in Sydney and want to rent a 2023 MG MG4 hatchback, it will set you back $273 per week or $1,093 for the month.
For comparison, a look online for a similar EV hatchback would cost roughly $1,500 for a monthly rental.
You can pick from a range of manufacturers like Hyundai, BYD, and MG, with the Carly EV fleet totalling around 100 cars across Australia.
Noone said the majority of people who used his rental system found an EV was right for them once the trial had finished. But it has helped prevent others from making a mistake.
The ever-evolving Aussie EV market
EV sales have been steadily increasing in Australia since 2020, and, in 2024, more than 50,000 electric cars have been reported as sold in Australia for the opening half of a calendar year for the first time ever.
But a recent report suggested there could be a change in the market down the track.
The McKinsey Mobility Consumer Pulse study revealed that 49 per cent of current Aussie EV owners want to switch back to a petrol or diesel car for their next purchase.
Australia led the pack for wanting to revert back to a conventional engine, compared to 46 per cent in the US, 38 per cent in Brazil, 28 per cent in China and 24 per cent in Germany.
On a global scale, 35 per cent of respondents cited the lack of charging infrastructure as the biggest reason for wanting to switch back, while others said it was the cost of the car, driving patterns on long trips, inability to charge at home, and worrying about charging.
A poll of nearly 10,000 Yahoo Finance readers found 73 per cent wouldn't buy an EV right now, while another survey of more than 5,000 people saw 61 per cent say a lack of trust is the biggest reason stopping them from buying an EV.
A further 34 per cent said cost was the biggest factor, but that could be about to change. More than a dozen Chinese brands have announced or are expected to launch in Australia in the coming months and one expert said this will be a big win for Aussies.
"More competition is excellent news for buyers and it means that they are going to get the benefit of brands having to sharpen the pencil and reduce their margins to actually get the sales that they need in Australia," car expert Paul Maric explained to Yahoo Finance.
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