Petrol vehicles facing a major loss of market share. Currently an estimated 77.5% of vehicles run on petrol but this is likely to decline due to the fact that only 63.7% of drivers say that their next vehicle is most likely have a petrol engine. This is not surprising as we have seen a high level of consideration for alternatives to petrol which will ultimately translate to increased buying intentions.

Although only around 1% of vehicles are currently either hybrid or fully electric they are likely to face a major increase in sales in the coming years as shown by the fact that 10.6% say that their next vehicle is likely to be ether hybrid (8.0%) or fully electric (2.6%).

Although diesel is facing declining consideration, the fact that it is still being considered by 45.5% of drivers accounts for the fact that a relatively high 24.8% still consider it to be the most likely fuel for their next car.

Norman Morris, Industry Communications Director at Roy Morgan says:

“Attitudes regarding petrol alternatives for vehicles have changed considerably over the last few years. Those alternatives considered more environmentally friendly than the traditional internal combustion engines, mainly hybrids and fully electric, have seen increased consideration".

"This is largely as a result of major car brands continuing to develop and produce new models that make alternate fuels an affordable and practical reality. A recent example of this is that Volkswagen has just announced that it will launch its last generation of vehicles using combustion engines in 2026 and focus on electric cars instead.

“Vehicle purchase intentions can be influenced by fuel considerations, however to date, this has been a long term indicator in converting this to actual sales. This is illustrated by the fact that despite high consideration levels among Australians for both hybrid and fully electric vehicles over the last eight years, they still account for around only 1% of total vehicles".