A Senate Committee report has called for a national electric vehicle strategy to boost the number of EVs on Australian roads.
In a sweeping report, the Select Committee on Electric Vehicles makes 17 recommendations to increase EV uptake in Australia.
The committee’s report says Australia risks falling behind other nations because of a failure by government to recognise the economic benefits of the electric vehicle sector.
The report also recommends a widespread transition to EVs across the entire Australian transport fleet. This includes upgrading all Commonwealth vehicles to EVs to encourage uptake in the community.
In addition, the government should create regulations for national EV charging, and set stringent emissions standards on new vehicles. The report also calls for a coordinated effort by states and territories to bring Formula-E racing to Australia.
Other measures include developing a 10-year EV manufacturing roadmap, covering research and development, vehicle and system design, and battery manufacture.
Urgent need for national electric vehicle strategy
Australia’s Electric Vehicle Council (EVC) is urging the government to adopt the Senate Committee’s recommendations.
Previous studies have shown 70 per cent of consumers would buy an electric vehicle with the right government policy support.
Behyad Jafari, chief executive of the EVC, said Australia was the “world’s laggard when it comes to EVs”.
“That’s primarily due to our outdated policy settings, especially around emission targets. We can change that today,” he said.
The EVC is calling for a national EV target of 50 per cent of all new vehicle sales by 2030, along with public funding to roll out an ultra-fast charging network.
World moving on, time to act is now
Data reveals EVs made up just 0.2 per cent of new vehicle sales in Australia in 2017. However, more than 50 per cent of global car sales will be electric by 2040, according to Bloomberg research.
But in the absence of an appropriate EV strategy from government, Australia’s EV uptake is likely to be modest. Global EV makers will seek other markets for vehicles, leaving local motorists with less choice.
Otherwise, Australians are slowly embracing EV technology. It’s now possible to circumnavigate Australia in an electric vehicle.
In addition, by combining rooftop solar with storage such as a Tesla Powerwall 2 home battery, households can charge an EV overnight using power stored during the day.
