Buyers of electric vehicles in New South Wales can now enjoy some of Australia’s most generous incentives from today (September 1), incuding rebates and stamp duty concessions will help slash the purchase cost of an electric vehicle.
In June, New South Wales government announced in that it will provide rebates of $3000 for the first 25,000 electric vehicles sold in the state. To be eligible for the rebate, the purchase price of the vehicle needs to be under $68,750, with the policy designed to improve the affordability of electric vehicles.
The NSW government will also waive stamp duty fees on electric vehicles that cost less than $78,000, which could take total savings to more than $5,000 off the up front cost of an EV.
Eligibility for both of these incentives starts today (September 1), with electric vehicle buyers to become eligible for a refund of both the rebate and stamp duty waiver once backdated legislation is passed through parliament.
Check out a list of electric vehicle models set to benefit from the new NSW incentives
At this stage, the incentives are likely to benefit buyers of smaller models of electric vehicles, including the Tesla Model 3 SR+, the Nissan Leaf, the Mini Cooper SE, the MG ZS, and should also extend to the larger Hyundai Kona and the Kia e-Niro.
One complication for prospective EV buyers has been caused by the current Covid-19 outbreak in New South Wales. Lock downs have prevented the NSW parliament from meeting, and has not yet passed the necessary legislation needed to enshrine the new rebates and stamp duty waivers into law.
The NSW government has said that it is committed to backdating the eligibility of the two policies, and that should legislation ultimately pass parliament, eligible buyers of electric vehicles will be refunded the value of the rebate and any stamp duty waiver.
However, the additional plan to open up T2 and T3 transit lanes to electric vehicles – usually reserved for car pooling – has encountered a hitch, and will not be able to start until changes to transport laws can be made in parliament.
As part of the NSW government’s package of EV support measures, “EV plated” vehicles will eventually be able to enjoy easier commuting through the use of the transport lanes.
The new incentives are part of a $490 million state government package to support uptake of electric vehicles, and includes a commitment to spend $131 million to establish a network of ultra-fast vehicle chargers, providing easy access across all of the state’s major highways – establishing its own ‘super highways’ similar to those in Queensland – and ensuring most commuters within Sydney are less than 5 minutes drive to a fast-charging station.
An additional $20 million in grants will also be provided to key tourist sites to offer destination charging facilities and $20 million will be provided for charging infrastructure at public transport hubs.
Check out incentives in other states, and a buying guide, in these articles:
Explainer: Which Australian states offer the best incentives to buy EVs?
The What, Why, When guide to buying an electric vehicle in Australia
Michael Mazengarb is a journalist with RenewEconomy, based in Sydney. Before joining RenewEconomy, Michael worked in the renewable energy sector for more than a decade.