Sam Irvine

Sam Irvine covers companies and the automotive industry for The Australian Financial Review, focusing on how the shift to electric vehicles is reshaping markets, infrastructure and workplace dynamics. His reporting combines detailed market data, policy analysis and corporate perspectives to show how the car business and its regulators are changing.

Electric vehicles and the changing car market

Irvine reports closely on the growth of electric vehicle sales and their impact on the broader car market.

He has written on record monthly EV sales, drawing on data from the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries and the Electric Vehicle Council to show that 15,839 electric vehicles were sold in one March and that EVs reached 14.6 per cent of new car sales. He follows the secondary market as well, with coverage of second-hand EV sales more than doubling as drivers look to avoid petrol price shocks, signalling how used car dynamics are shifting alongside new car demand.

Brand competition is a recurring theme, particularly the rise of Chinese manufacturers. Irvine has examined MG Motor’s sales decline in Australia in the context of intensifying pressure from other Chinese brands, framing the story around changing consumer perceptions and pricing. In another piece, he explored an extraordinary shift in Australia’s car market, noting that electric vehicles accounted for 23.3 per cent of sales in June and that BYD came within 243 cars of overtaking Toyota as the country’s top-selling brand.

These stories show him using sales numbers and brand rankings to illustrate how quickly the market is tilting towards new entrants and electric drivetrains.

His coverage extends into audio, where he appears on The Australian Financial Review’s podcast The Fin to discuss whether Australia is reaching an EV tipping point.

In that episode, he and a motoring writer examine whether charging infrastructure and policy settings are keeping pace with rising demand, reinforcing his focus on the practical enablers and constraints of EV adoption. He has also reported on JET Charge’s approach to EV charging, highlighting a chief executive’s view that quality beats quantity in charger deployment and that Australia can learn from Europe’s mistakes in infrastructure rollout. Together, these pieces position Irvine as a reporter who treats EVs not just as new products, but as a system-level change in technology, brands and infrastructure.

Policy, tax and incentives around car ownership

Irvine brings a policy and tax lens to car ownership, using documents and economic analysis to test the fairness of incentives. In one piece he disclosed results from a freedom of information request to the Australian Tax Office about the fringe benefits tax exemption for EV financing, showing that 30.6 per cent of motorists using the exemption were earning above the top income tax threshold and that 54 per cent of lease holders earned more than $135,000. He reported economists’ concerns that this exemption is an inefficient and exclusionary way to encourage EV uptake, and that it disproportionately benefits higher-income drivers.

That work underlines his willingness to use FOI processes and distributional data to interrogate whether industry-support policies match their stated goals.

This policy focus connects back to his market reporting, where he links incentives, infrastructure and consumer behaviour. In his EV charging and tipping-point coverage, he looks at how tax breaks, charger availability and government policy interact with household budgets and brand competition, rather than treating each element in isolation. The result is coverage that is valuable for stakeholders who need to understand not just what policies exist, but who they help and how they shape demand for cars and related services.

Corporate results and retail sector coverage

Alongside automotive stories, Irvine writes on corporate performance and listed companies. He has co-authored pieces on department store chain Myer, reporting that the retailer expected flat annual sales of around $4 billion and linking this outlook to reduced spending on beauty products and clothing brands.

In coverage of company results more broadly, he contributes to detailed analyses of earnings and guidance, helping explain how shifts in consumer behaviour and input costs flow through to balance sheets.

His companies reporting overlaps with the car industry, where brand strategies and financial outcomes are closely tied.

The MG Motor story, for example, uses sales trends to illuminate the pressures on an individual brand inside a crowded, changing market. His BYD versus Toyota coverage uses company-level data to show how incumbent leaders can be challenged when technology and pricing regimes move quickly. Professional profiles describe him as a companies reporter at The Australian Financial Review, and his recent work supports that description by consistently anchoring stories in business performance, market share and corporate decision-making.

Workplace and employment issues

Irvine also covers workplace and employment topics, particularly where they intersect with corporate behaviour and regulation.

He has reported on how women over 50 keep being asked when they are going to retire, using that story to explore age and gender dynamics in the workforce and the persistence of bias in employer expectations. In his coverage of a childcare provider facing legal action over unpaid wages, he focuses on enforcement, compliance and the consequences of underpayment claims for both staff and management.

Across these pieces, Irvine treats employment stories as part of the broader business environment, connecting regulatory action, corporate culture and worker experience.

His recognition as News Journalist of the Year at the Newspress Australia awards for automotive coverage further indicates that his reporting on industry transitions and their human impact is noticed beyond individual stories. The mix of automotive, corporate and workplace reporting makes his portfolio distinct: he tracks how changing markets, policies and company decisions play out in sales figures, tax data and the lives of workers and consumers.