The Great EV Comeback
Why Electric Cars Are Primed to Explode Again
This article is for general information only and is not personal financial advice.
It’s peak Electric Vehicle (EV) pessimism time.
If you’re watching the commentary around EVs in the last few months, you’d think they’ve packed their bags, left the keys on the counter, and walked quietly out the back door of history.
Comment sections are full of triumphant chest-thumping declarations that ‘EVs are finished’ and ‘Australians don’t want electric cars’.
It’s all garbage.
Sentiment-driven, short-memory, hype-cycle garbage.
EVs didn’t die.
They hit the boring middle of the S-curve.
That’s the phase where the early adopters have already bought in, the mainstream hasn’t arrived yet, and investors and commentators lose their minds because the chart isn’t going up in a straight line.
But there are several reasons to believe we are about to see the most exciting part of the EV revolution takeoff.
With unstoppable force!
This is the rare kind of change that can redefine our lifestyles, company trajectories and our investment strategies.
So, it’s clearly worth paying attention to.
Australia isn’t witnessing the death of EVs.
We’re watching the pause before the boom.
We’ll dive into three big reasons why 2026 could be the year the electric car decided to stay, but first, let’s set the mood.
Australia Loves a Mood Swing
We’re a country that can turn on a dime. One minute EVs are the saviours of the universe. The next minute they’re the automotive equivalent of Myspace.
Let’s cover the negative EV narrative.
EV sales slowed in 2024.
Hybrids surged.
Charging stations are patchy.
People worry they’ll run out of juice in Goulburn.
Tesla’s cool factor isn’t what it was in 2020.
All technically true.
But the interpretation is just plain wrong.
This kind of condescending I-told-you-so lecture series is nothing new.
It’s the same predictable smugness we see every time a new world changing technology hits a flat patch. People forget that every major innovation looks dead right before it goes vertical again.
Some of us can still remember a distant land called the early 90s.
Experts, columnists, and half the business world confidently declared the internet a fad.
The ‘evidence’ for the imminent implosion of the internet fad rhymes eerily with what’s being said about EVs today:
Most people don’t even own a computer.
Proprietary online services like AOL and CompuServe are growing faster than the internet.
14.4K modems give a patchy connection.
People worry they’ll run out of data when the picture they want to see is 95% downloaded.
Netscape Navigator is not as cool as it used to be.
The same energy behind today’s EV obituaries.
The same lack of faith.
The same inability to recognise that adoption curves don’t run in straight lines.
We’re watching the messy middle of a megatrend play out, exactly like the internet did before it ate the entire global economy.
A classic mid-cycle adoption wobble.
The same thing that happened with smartphones, solar panels, laptops, colour TVs, and literally every major technology breakthrough of the last century.
But, there are three shifts that are set to light a fire under EV adoption.
Battery Tech Is Doing Jedi-Level Stuff
This is the part the public hasn’t internalised yet.
Battery technology is improving so rapidly that the mainstream narrative is already obsolete.
LFP batteries are now cheap, stable, durable, and perfect for mass-market EVs.
But the real accelerant is what’s coming next.
Sodium-ion batteries will slash production costs again in the cheap end of town.
Semi-solid and solid-state prototypes are cracking 800km to 1000km ranges.
Charging speeds are getting absurd.
Thermal management systems are eliminating degradation fears.
Range anxiety is dying.
Slowly at first, but people are waking up to how good these cars are now.
The Tesla Model 3 Long Range variant can muster up 750km on a single charge.
The idea that Aussies will be terrified to drive from Brisbane to Noosa in an EV will soon sound as silly as calling Netflix a ‘fad’ in 2007.
Batteries are quickly getting cheaper, safer, and capable of real long-range touring.
Charging Networks Are Growing
We spent a decade with a charging network that felt like a scavenger hunt:
One charger behind a council building.
One at a servo with a broken card reader.
One at a Westfield that works… sometimes… on a full moon… if you hold the cable at the right angle.
But just as internet modem speeds improved quickly, we’re seeing the charging network escalate quickly.
BP, Ampol, Evie, Tesla, ChargeFox, councils, shopping centres, offices, Bunnings, even pubs are rolling out chargers.
For years, the infrastructure was the bottleneck. Now it’s becoming the accelerant.
Drivers don’t need a perfect network. They need a good enough network that removes the psychological barrier.
Australia works on vibes more than any other country. Once people feel confident they can get around without drama, the adoption curve goes vertical.
We’re dangerously close to that tipping point.
The Cheap EV Tsunami
This is the real nuke under the market.
The arrival of $25k EVs is going to change the Australian car landscape overnight. And not just $25k. We’re talking $20k. Even $15k possibly down the track.
BYD is leading the charge with brutally cheap, feature-packed models that make Toyota’s hybrid lineup look like yesterday’s news.
MG, GWM, Chery, Zeekr, and Leapmotor are right behind them.
We haven’t seen this kind of competition in the Australian car market since the Japanese brands flooded our shores in the 70s and 80s.
When households can buy an EV for the same price as a hybrid Corolla, the maths becomes unstoppable:
Lower running cost
Lower maintenance
Instant torque
Safer battery chemistries
Better infotainment
Cleaner cabin
Quieter drive
Ride share drivers will lead the charge. The economics just become too favourable.
Fleets will convert en masse once the accountants see the scales tip in the favour of EVs.
Families will lean in with their next ‘second car’ purchase.
And Toyota’s ‘hybrids forever’ plan suddenly looks vulnerable.
Ultra cheap EVs are about to carve up the Australian market. The sub $25k EV gives 2026 major tipping point potential.
Hybrids Are the Nokia 2006 of Cars
Yes, hybrids are booming.
Yes, they’re currently outselling EVs.
Yes, Toyota is bathing in profit.
But hybrids are an interim technology. A bridge. A comfort blanket for buyers who weren’t ready to go full electric yet.
And like all bridges, they get replaced.
The moment EVs hit cost parity and convenience parity, hybrid demand will collapse.
Toyota knows this. But they’ve painted themselves into an ideological corner.
You can feel their silence getting louder by the month.
Right now, hybrids work because they’re cheaper and simpler than EVs in most segments. But when cheap EVs flood the market and charging stops being a drama, hybrids lose their only competitive edges.
They become the Blackberry Bold of the car world. Loved right up until the day they suddenly weren’t.
BYDs entry level model for Australia is now priced well below the cheapest hybrids.
Why Australia Is the Perfect Late Bloomer
We are exactly the kind of country that will slingshot into high EV adoption once everything lines up.
We’ve got:
High petrol prices
Long commutes
Big suburban garages
High disposable income
Households with multiple cars
A grid shifting toward renewables
No local auto industry blocking imports
You couldn’t design a better EV market in a lab.
The only things holding us back were price and infrastructure. Both solved.
The Edge
Don’t let the halftime break in the EV story fool you.
The tech is accelerating.
The prices are collapsing.
The charging network is filling in.
The global competition is intensifying.
Everything that matters is moving in the right direction.
The next boom won’t look like the last one. It won’t be driven by early adopters or environmental hype.
It’ll be driven by families doing simple maths and realising the cheap EV in the driveway simply makes more sense.
The next leg higher could come faster than anyone realises.
Now is the time to be giving the EV opportunity another hard look.
The best opportunities are rarely the most obvious. Understanding the players and how they’re leveraged to the story is critical.
There are miners, battery makers and the car makers.
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This publication has been prepared by The Markets IQ, a division of Vitti Capital Pty Ltd (ABN 13 670 030 145), which is a Corporate Authorised Representative (001306367) of Point Capital Group Pty Ltd (ABN 41 625 931 900), the holder of Australian Financial Services Licence 518031. This report is for general information only and does not take into account your objectives, financial situation, or needs. It is not personal financial advice or a recommendation to buy, hold, or sell any security. You should consider whether the information is appropriate in light of your circumstances and obtain professional advice before making any investment decision. This report is intended solely for wholesale, sophisticated, or professional investors within the meaning of the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth).
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