Plugged In is The Driven’s weekly wrap up of what happened over the past week in the local EV industry and community.
And it’s a big week: The public discussion on electric vehicles is heating up, at a federal and state level this week: the Coalition government officially releases a “do nothing” EV paper that actually suggests hybrids are a better choice than plug-in electrics, a new survey shows most Victorians think the state government should be doing more to support a transition to electrics, and both the NRMA and FCAI call for reform, although the latter remains shy about a full EV push.
Energy and emissions reduction minister Angus Taylor is trying to encourage Australians to choose hybrid vehicles over battery electric vehicles, in an extraordinary policy discussion paper that flies into the face of the rapid transition to EVs across the world.
Angus Taylor’s claims of a $750 tonne abatement cost for a “typical” electric vehicle is plain wrong because it is based on the comparison of a big electric van with a small petrol one.
A whopping 80% agree the government should be doing more to support the transition to clean transport, and nearly half of drivers would like to buy an electric vehicle next time they buy a car, the survey commissioned by the Electric Vehicle Council reveals.
NRMA calls for reforms – including changing FBT to focus on emissions rather than price, and excluding battery electrics from luxury tax – to help Australia catch up with EV transition.
Modest gains for EVs in Australia in January were accompanied by a call from the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries (FCAI) for federal and state governments to work together to banish unhelpful policies and regulations if the auto industry is to achieve net-zero goals.
The 2021 Kona Electric compact SUV will land in March, Hyundai Australia has confirmed.
Pizza chain Domino’s is trialling 6 electric delivery vehicles from eMOS in Melbourne and Sydney and will shortly add more to its Brisbane operations.
“The location of Chargefox Port Macquarie allows easy travel for both locals and EV drivers visiting from the southern states,” said Chargefox in an email to drivers. “Construction is already underway for our ninth site in NSW and, when opened, these ultra-rapid sites will connect with Chargefox sites in neighbouring states to allow travel from Adelaide to Brisbane without any long charging stops.”
Australia’s Rectifier Technologies unveils “stackable” electric car fast charger module that will help cut costs of high-powered installations and make it easier to find sites.
Bridie Schmidt is associate editor for The Driven, sister site of Renew Economy. She has been writing about electric vehicles since 2018, and has a keen interest in the role that zero-emissions transport has to play in sustainability. She has participated in podcasts such as Download This Show with Marc Fennell and Shirtloads of Science with Karl Kruszelnicki and is co-organiser of the Northern Rivers Electric Vehicle Forum. Bridie also owns a Tesla Model Y and has it available for hire on evee.com.au.
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