A new study out of Europe says the global take up of electric vehicles by consumers is inevitable and already underway. But it still seems a distant story here in Australia.
The authors of the Element Electric report say it’s expected that battery electric vehicles—or BEVs—will become the most demanded engine across Europe from 2025. They point to falling car prices driven by lower production costs of lithium-ion batteries and manufacturer savings as companies scale up.
But government (are you listening Mr Morrison?) still has a part to play. Supporting the supply of affordable electric vehicles & batteries, and raising taxes on petroleum engines are two of the strategies the study backs.
Interestingly Denmark has already hit a milestone with only 8% of new cars sold in the country last year using petroleum or diesel. The government encouraged the switch by cutting taxes on new electric cars which kickstarted the momentum, and as more EVs hit the road the market shifted with more charging networks and, crucially, growing consumer experience and acceptance.
So Australia…..in 2020 only 6718 BEVs were sold nationally according to the Electric Vehicle Council, versus China where 1.3M vehicles were sold.
Thankfully state governments here are acting independently of the Federal Government’s foot dragging. For example NSW has announced a $500M plan to address affordability and charger access.
Transportation is the largest source of greenhouse emissions (in the USA at least and one assumes it’s close here) and the experts tell us moving away from combustion engines is essential to avoiding the worst effects of a warming planet.
Australia has always been an innovator. Lets not lose the momentum now.
Cheers,
John Fennell
The European study is here: https://www.platformelectromobility.eu/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/20220110_InevitableEV_Final.pdf