Premium plugging in! Euro brands like BMW and Mercedes-Benz electric car sales jumped up in 2022

Brands like BMW and Mercedes-Benz are selling plenty more electric cars as they become not only more affordable but also more in fashion.

While plenty of the increase in electric car sales overall can be attributed to an increase in knowledge and affordability, even if slowly in Australia, and the dominance of EV pioneer Tesla, there are more new and style-inclined models appearing from brands like Audi, and even relative newcomer Polestar, as well as the aforementioned BMW and Mercedes.

While BMW has had electric cars on Australian soil since the introduction of the i3 and i8 early last decade, 2022 was the year things really picked up. Not only does the brand now have two new models in the i4 and i7, but last year its electric SUVs the iX3 and iX were already picking up pace.

Read More About BMW i Series

Electric car sub-brands should be banned! | Opinion What is e-tron anyway? How Audi's past sets a precedent for the future of its EV line-up "Electric cars are expensive, don't kid yourself": Toyota Australia plans three EVs in three years

The brand shifted 593 iX3s, compared to 69 the year before, while the dedicated electric iX badge found its feet with 477 sales topping the 35 of 2021.

Over at Mercedes-Benz, the EQ sub-brand has not only doubled in models, but also in sales. Across the EQA, EQB, EQC, and EQS, Mercedes sold 1153 cars in 2022, compared to a significantly lower 665 the year before.

The EQA is doing plenty of heavy lifting there, with 324 sales last year compared to 367 in 2021. The EQC lifted slightly from 298 to 318 sales between years, while the EQB (141) and EQS (70) made their sales debuts in 2022.

Of course, none of these models rival the sales of another European badge in Polestar, with the Polestar 2 having debuted in 2022 to the tune of 1524 sales.

But Polestar’s former parent brand Volvo also found itself shifting plenty of electric metal last year, with 491 of its new C40 Recharge and 983 XC40 Recharge finding homes in Australia.

Some brands saw smaller gains, with cars like the Audi e-tron picking up an extra 21 sales year on year (129 vs 108) or the Genesis GV60 starting its sales off with 114 units, having only been around for some of 2022.

Models that have been around a little longer even went slightly backwards, with the Jaguar I-Pace almost halving its sales, just 23 sold in 2022 before its imminent update, while the initially-quite-popular Porsche Taycan dropped from 531 sales in 2021 to 430 last year.