Trucking group teams up with EV Council to remove electric freight barriers

The Australian Trucking Association and Australia’s Electric Vehicle Council have announced a new partnership which will work to remove barriers preventing the uptake of electric freight vehicles across the country.

According to a brief press release published on Wednesday by both the ATA and the EVC, Australia has been falling behind in the global uptake of electric freight vehicles, due to a lack of strategy and charging infrastructure.

“There is currently limited model availability and regulatory barriers,” the statement reads.

Confused and obstinate Federal and state electric vehicle policies (or lack thereof) has meant that vehicle manufacturers are reluctant to bring their electric vehicles to Australia’s shores. This same confusing mix of policies has also meant that necessary charging infrastructure has been slow to roll out.

In an effort to break through this impasse and help accelerate the uptake of electric freight vehicles across Australia, Australian Trucking Association and Electric Vehicle Council will partner on initiatives to identify existing challenges and develop paths around these challenges.

“The ATA and the EVC have a shared vision to accelerate the electrification of road transport, and we are thrilled to begin this important partnership,” said Michael Deegan, ATA CEO.

“Together, we are leading the country to progress electric heavy vehicle uptake. This is an important step forward in building Australia’s sustainable heavy vehicle fleet.”

“Advances in global electric freight vehicle technology are creating abundant opportunities for Australian trucking and the nation more broadly,” said Behyad Jafari, CEO of the Electric Vehicle Council.

“They can help us drive down emissions, increase efficiency, and make our air safer to breathe. But we can only capture those opportunities if we take a proactive approach to policy and that’s why this partnership is so exciting.”

The ATA and EVC will host the first initiative beginning this week with a series of workshops intended to bring together industry and productivity experts – with the first to bring together truck manufacturers, and the second workshop to bring together truck operators.

“The workshops will outline the current challenges of electrification for the trucking industry, as well as identifying concrete objectives to move this issue forward,” said Jafari.