A government analysis is throwing cold water over a political squabble, finding that half of the cars sold in Australia by the year 2035 will be electric cars even if there is no official policy to mandate such sales.

This goes back four months to Labor's election pledge to set a target of 50 percent new car sales being electric by 2030.  Prime Minister Scott Morrison, instead of embracing sound environmental policies, alleged to his supporters that Labor allegedly wanted to "end the weekend".  Small business minister Michaelia Cash claimed that only the coalition would "save the ute".

But a new report from the government's Bureau of Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Economies (BITRE) found that sales of electric vehicles are expected to grow rapidly all over the world in coming decades.  

Electric vehicles account for only a third of a percent of Aussie auto sales today.  But the technology and materials will come down in price, and the BITRE report predicts electric car sales to rise to 8 percent in 2025, 27 percent in 2030, and 50 percent in 2035.  That's not too far off from what Labor was suggesting and would come just as a result of letting the market thrive.

"As this report shows, the destination for Australia is predetermined.  The choice is how much value and benefit we capture in getting there," said Behyad Jafari, chief executive of industry group the Electric Vehicle Council.  "Globally, there is some $US300 Billion being invested in the EV sector.  Surely Australia should be getting a piece of the action."