While the upfront costs of EVs are currently more expensive than conventional petrol vehicles, powering an EV costs an estimated 70 per cent less per kilometre.

EVs have lower running costs than regular petrol-powered cars, given they have no engine, transmission, head gasket, filters or spark plugs.

Battery EVs also don’t require petrol or diesel. For context, the average Australian drives 15,000 kilometres a year, spending more than $2,000 on fuel. It’s estimated an EV also travelling 15,000 kilometres costs around $600 per year – that’s a $1,400 annual saving.

According to the Electric Vehicle Council of Australia, current EVs have an average battery range of nearly 480km but with ongoing technology advancements some new models can get to 550km on a single charge.

With the average Australian driving 38 kilometres a day, an EV owner who carries out short trips can go for 10 or more days without needing to recharge.

Most new EV sales include an entry-level charger which simply connects to a normal electricity power outlet that you would have at home.

Public charging solutions are available across Australia. The Electric Vehicle Council of Australia website lists all available charging stations around the country, including the type of chargers.

Charging times are decreasing as technology changes and more EVs hit the market. Entry-level chargers supplied with EVs can take up to 30 hours to full charge a vehicle; this timeframe reduces to overnight with higher capacity chargers available at an optional cost.

Public chargers can be much faster – with super-charge stations adding up to 300 kilometres of range in 10 to 15 minutes, and regular stations often doing the job in less than five hours.

EVs can deliver full torque instantly, allowing them to accelerate faster than equivalent combustion engine vehicles.