The Federal Labor Government has now introduced their electric car discount bill to parliament in a sign the country may finally be moving ahead on electric mobility.
It’s a good start even if there’s still some way to go. But the stars seem to be aligning on e-mobility as governments start acting.
This Federal bill will remove fringe benefits tax to make electric cars cheaper for employees & employers, but they also plan to remove the 5% import tariff for eligible electric cars while unveiling the country’s 1st national Electric Vehicle Strategy. They called it long overdue and I agree.
At the same time a number of state & territory governments also seem to be getting serious. For example the NSW Government’s Electric Vehicle Strategy uses tax cuts & incentives to help push sales of EVs to over 50% of new car sales by 2030-31 with cuts to upfront car costs, phased out stamp duty & a network of ultra-fast charging stations.
There’s quite a lot of detail to still work out and I expect there’ll be some confusion for a while yet, but the Electric Vehicle Council is upbeat about the changes, calling the Federal move on Twitter “What a win!……..We expect the policy will save someone $3 to $5k p.a. on a novated lease, bringing some EVs effectively to price parity with comparable petrol/diesel models.”
There’s plenty of evidence that consumers are ready for the change if EVs become more affordable. Over half of consumers here like electric cars for their cheaper running costs and better safety, performance & environmental footprint, but are daunted by high up front costs.
A comprehensive study out of the UK—where combustion engine vehicles will be banned from 2030—also found very high satisfaction levels amongst electric car owners.
Change is clearly coming here, but governments can do more to get electric car prices down as well as explaining what the new policies mean and how consumers can benefit.
Cheers,John Fennell.
UK study: https://www.autotrader.co.uk/cars/electric/understanding-sustainability-electric-cars/
