Fuel retailers have been warned that electric vehicles may be cheaper than petrol cars as soon as 2025.

Tritium chief executive Jane Hunter says electric vehicle (EV) prices are falling because of an ongoing decline in the cost of batteries. 

Tritium manages over 5000 EV charging stations globally, and says its their fossil fuel counterparts need to take notice. 

“Some [fuel retailers] are already closing, and you’re starting to see in the United States signs up to sell not just petrol...but also electrification with a price next to it, which is a change we haven’t seen yet in Australia,” Ms Hunter said.

She pointed out that charging stations are not bound by the same environmental regulations as petrol stations, so they can be built anywhere, including in residential areas and retail outlets.

“There’s a whole lot of different customer channels now that can operate a fleet of chargers and can sell demand,” Ms Hunter said.

“It’s an entirely disruptive and different model...and that’s one of the exciting things about this technology is it’s decoupled from the fuel forecourt.”

Experts say the lack of charging infrastructure and any national EV policy is hampering the uptake of the vehicles in Australia.