As opined in my previous article “Australia’s uptake of EVs to drive innovation”, the introduction of the New Vehicle Efficiency Standard (NVES) appears set to promote a rise in adoption of electric vehicles (EVs) in Australia. This rise was to lead to an increase in innovation of technologies of EVs. Based on the findings IP Australia’s Australian IP Report 2025, this upward trend in innovation is well and truly underway and this is largely driven by Chinese companies.
What does the report say?
IP Australia has dedicated a subsection of the “Technology” section of Chapter 2 of the IP Report to highlight the growth in IP related to EVs. The subsection, entitled China driving growth in IP activity for electric vehicles and transport, reports that “China has emerged as a fast-expanding producer of automobiles, in particular electric vehicles and related parts including batteries.” This has seen an uptick in IP rights being sought in Australia, for example, Figure 4.5 in Chapter 4 of the IP Report shows Chinese EV manufacturer BYD as becoming a leading international filer of Australian designs (Figure 4.5 partially reproduced below, showing the number of design filings in 2024 for the top international filers of Australian designs):
Top domestic and international applicants for design rights in Australia, 2024
The IP Report further notes that the US and China account for the majority of EV patent filings in Australia, with China significantly outpacing other countries in growth, at 75.0% annualised compared to 38.4% for the US. Australia follows China in domestic EV patent growth, at 43.6% on average per year, showing that local innovation in this space is also at a fairly healthy level.
As further stated in the IP Report, the IP filing numbers show Australia has become an attractive destination for Chinese EV exports, driven by favourable policies such as the NVES and the removal of import tariffs and fringe benefit tax, as well as increased tariffs on Chinese EVs in other major markets.
Looking ahead
The sales figures in June 2025 showed strong sales of EVs in Australia.1 In line with its increase in innovation, BYD has continued to increase its market share, not only in the EV ranks but in overall car sales.2
Whilst there are factors working against EV uptake (such as lack of charging infrastructure particularly for long-distance travel outside of major cities, and customer concerns with EV price and re-sale values), the recent sales figures and the continuing effect of the NVES appears to indicate the continued rise of EV innovation in Australia building on the strong uptick that was observed in 2024 in the IP Report.
