Best Melbourne suburbs for electric-vehicle adoption

Doncaster leads on current adoption, with 3.36% of its light vehicles battery-electric — 29.05× its 2021 rate. Rates across the ranked Melbourne postcodes span 1.36% to 3.48%. These 30 suburbs came from a field of 198 eligible Melbourne suburbs.

This ranking scores every eligible Melbourne suburb on the share of light vehicles that are battery-electric, blended with 2021-2025 growth, dwelling activity, and walkability. Two lists — current adoption and fastest-growing — sit side by side since a highly-adopted suburb and an up-and-comer offer different EV stories.

Vehicle registrations are published at postcode level, so we collapse each postcode to its highest-population suburb as the list representative. The percentile ranks that drive the score are computed within Melbourne's candidate pool, so a suburb's growth score is relative to other Melbourne suburbs rather than the national field. Growth is the multiple of the current BEV share against the 2021-01-31 baseline — a 15x growth means today's rate is fifteen times what it was four years ago.

Melbourne suburbs with the highest EV adoption today

Ranked on current BEV share of light-vehicle registrations (31 January 2025 snapshot), with growth, dwelling activity, walkability and safety as blend factors.

1

Doncaster

VIC 3108 · 25,020 residents

3.4% BEV share · 29× since 2021 · very walkable

A 95.2
2

Chadstone

VIC 3148 · 9,552 residents

3.2% BEV share · 34× since 2021 · very walkable

B 92.9
3

Williams Landing

VIC 3027 · 9,448 residents

3.4% BEV share · 23× since 2021 · walkable

B 91.1
4

Parkville

VIC 3052 · 7,074 residents

3.0% BEV share · 28× since 2021 · very walkable

A 85.5
5

Strathmore

VIC 3041 · 8,980 residents

2.9% BEV share · 21× since 2021 · walkable

A+ 81.9
6

Bentleigh

VIC 3204 · 17,921 residents

2.5% BEV share · 19× since 2021 · very walkable

A+ 80.9
7

Docklands

VIC 3008 · 15,495 residents

3.2% BEV share · 8× since 2021 · very walkable

B 80.5
8

Fairfield

VIC 3078 · 6,535 residents

3.0% BEV share · 16× since 2021 · very walkable

A 79.2
9

Sandringham

VIC 3191 · 10,926 residents

2.5% BEV share · 17× since 2021 · very walkable

A 78.7
10

Highett

VIC 3190 · 12,016 residents

1.9% BEV share · 49× since 2021 · very walkable

A 77.6
11

East Melbourne

VIC 3002 · 4,896 residents

3.5% BEV share · 6× since 2021 · very walkable

A+ 77.4
12

Balwyn North

VIC 3104 · 21,302 residents

3.2% BEV share · 13× since 2021 · very walkable

A+ 76.9
13

Elsternwick

VIC 3185 · 10,887 residents

2.6% BEV share · 13× since 2021 · very walkable

A+ 76.4
14

Altona North

VIC 3025 · 12,962 residents

2.4% BEV share · 45× since 2021 · car-dependent

C 76.0
15

Bentleigh East

VIC 3165 · 30,159 residents

2.2% BEV share · 22× since 2021 · very walkable

A 75.9

Ranked from 198 qualifying suburbs.

Melbourne suburbs with the fastest EV adoption growth

Ranked on 2021-to-2025 growth in BEV share, with current share, dwelling activity and walkability as blend factors — the up-and-coming EV heartlands.

1

Doncaster

VIC 3108 · 25,020 residents

3.4% BEV share · 29× since 2021 · very walkable

A 93.2
2

Chadstone

VIC 3148 · 9,552 residents

3.2% BEV share · 34× since 2021 · very walkable

B 93.2
3

Highett

VIC 3190 · 12,016 residents

1.9% BEV share · 49× since 2021 · very walkable

A 90.1
4

Williams Landing

VIC 3027 · 9,448 residents

3.4% BEV share · 23× since 2021 · walkable

B 85.6
5

Cheltenham

VIC 3192 · 23,992 residents

1.5% BEV share · 54× since 2021 · very walkable

A 84.9
6

Parkville

VIC 3052 · 7,074 residents

3.0% BEV share · 28× since 2021 · very walkable

A 84.7
7

Burwood East

VIC 3151 · 10,675 residents

1.9% BEV share · 29× since 2021 · very walkable

A 83.5
8

Templestowe Lower

VIC 3107 · 14,098 residents

2.0% BEV share · 48× since 2021 · very walkable

A 83.3
9

Altona North

VIC 3025 · 12,962 residents

2.4% BEV share · 45× since 2021 · car-dependent

C 83.3
10

Bulleen

VIC 3105 · 11,219 residents

1.9% BEV share · 31× since 2021 · very walkable

B 80.9
11

Tarneit

VIC 3029 · 56,370 residents

1.4% BEV share · 29× since 2021 · walkable

B 80.3
12

Oakleigh South

VIC 3167 · 9,851 residents

1.9% BEV share · 28× since 2021 · very walkable

A+ 80.2
13

Lynbrook

VIC 3975 · 9,121 residents

1.4% BEV share · 38× since 2021 · walkable

C 80.0
14

Kensington

VIC 3031 · 10,745 residents

1.7% BEV share · 42× since 2021 · very walkable

B 78.9
15

Keysborough

VIC 3173 · 30,018 residents

1.8% BEV share · 25× since 2021 · walkable

B 78.2

Ranked from 198 qualifying suburbs.

How we ranked these

Both rankings blend current BEV share, 2021→2025 growth, dwelling activity, and walkability — but the weightings differ so each list foregrounds its own story. Highest adoption today weights current share heaviest (55%); fastest growing weights the growth multiple heaviest (55%). Postcodes are collapsed to one representative suburb per postcode before scoring since the underlying data is published at postcode level. Cars are counted where they are registered, so a company fleet makes its postcode look like a suburb of EV owners. Left out for that reason: Mulgrave (3170), South Melbourne (3205). The city-centre postcode is left out as well (Melbourne 3000): many of the cars registered there belong to businesses, and the data cannot tell them apart from residents' cars. See how we calculate for the full methodology.

Common questions about this ranking

What are the best Melbourne suburbs for electric-vehicle adoption?

Doncaster leads on current adoption, with 3.36% of its light vehicles battery-electric — 29.05× its 2021 rate. Rates across the ranked Melbourne postcodes span 1.36% to 3.48%. These 30 suburbs came from a field of 198 eligible Melbourne suburbs.

How is this ranking scored?

Each eligible Melbourne suburb is scored on four factors: battery-electric share of light-vehicle registrations, 2021→2025 growth in that share, dwelling activity (a proxy for how much new housing the suburb is absorbing), and walkability. The two lists foreground different factors — 'highest today' weights current share heaviest (55%), 'fastest growing' weights the growth multiple heaviest (55%). Percentiles are computed within Melbourne's candidate pool, not nationally.

Why are the numbers postcode-level?

Vehicle-registration data is published at postcode level, not per suburb, so every suburb inside a given postcode carries the same BEV share. Ranking would surface near-identical clones of the same postcode at the top of the list, so we collapse each postcode to one representative suburb before scoring — the highest-population suburb in the postcode. That's the most recognisable name and the cleanest link target for a reader clicking through.

What is 'BEV' and how does it compare to plug-in hybrids?

BEV means battery-electric vehicle — fully electric, no petrol engine. It excludes plug-in hybrids (PHEV) and conventional hybrids. Both hybrid types are captured separately on individual suburb pages under the EV adoption card, but the /best/ ranking is BEV-only because that's the metric most closely tracked by state and federal EV incentive programs.

How often is this list updated?

The top 15 is recomputed after each AAA EV Index release. The AAA publishes annually — the 2025 snapshot landed in November 2025 covering 31-January registrations. Growth signals refresh alongside the next annual release.

Same list in other cities

Related

Rankings last computed 12 October 2026. Recomputed after each ACARA schools data refresh.

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