More than 10,000 people are expected to visit Australia’s biggest electric car show in Sydney, where organisers will display almost every battery-powered vehicle available in the country.
The Fully Charged Live Show, which will open its doors on Saturday, will also be the first venue in Australia to show off an unreleased MG hatchback that has been named as a contender for Australia’s cheapest electric car.
The motor show, which industry experts say is the first held in Australia in years, comes just one month after consumers set a record for electric vehicle purchases.
Fully Charged chief executive Dan Caesar told AAP the company had planned to bring an electric vehicle showcase Down Under earlier but “the pandemic slowed us in our tracks”.
“We’re finally delivering show one now and then we are definitely coming back next year. Typically in year two the show doubles or triples in size,” Caesar said.
“Australia seems to be quite a vibrant place at the moment in terms of talking about solar panels or batteries or EVs. There seems to be some strong demand.”
While electric vehicle sales made up 3.8 percent of new cars sales in 2022, that figure jumped to 6.8 percent in February 2023 and Caesar said the country was on a similar trajectory to the United States.
“We wouldn’t be surprised if by this time next year when we come back Australia is at 15 percent pure electric sales,” Caesar said.
The event, held at Sydney’s International Convention and Exhibition Centre, will feature electric cars from brands including Polestar, Tesla, Hyundai, VW, Peugeot, Nissan, and Honda, as well as an electric ute from LDV.
Several models will be available for attendees to test drive.
The show will also be the first Australian event to show off the MG4, a hatchback some experts predict could be a contender for the cheapest electric vehicle in the country.
MG Australia marketing general manager Rick White said the car maker would not reveal the MG4’s price yet but confirmed it would launch in the second half of the year.
“Originally we were going to get it a little sooner,” White said.
MG Australia communications manager David Giammetta said the company was eager to show off its upcoming vehicle, alongside a new long-range electric SUV model, to inspire drivers to consider what future cars could look like.
“Australia hasn’t had a motor show—this is as close as we’ve gotten to a motor show in years—so we just jumped on it as soon as we could,” Giammetta said.
