Car importers in Australia have welcomed new funding for public EV chargers, but warned that the federal Coalition’s updated “future fuels strategy) would provide little incentive for them to bring more electric cars to Australia.
A “Future Fuels Fund” released on Tuesday will inject $250 million (an increase of $178 million) into a public charging infrastructure rollout that will include 1,000 public charging stations, 400 charging stations for businesses and 50,000 smart chargers for homes.
But the strategy, which has come almost three years after it was first promised, has been labeled a “fizzer” that will not create an environment to bring down prices of EVs and offer more choice to consumers.
There are currently around 30 EV models available in Australia, but just one – the MG ZS EV – is available for under $45,000. More offerings may come from China-made EVs such as BYD cars via Australian company Nexport, but this will likely be in small numbers and with no clear arrival date.
And although global automakers  are targeting production of 40 million EVs a year according to new analysis from BloombergNEF, Australia will be last on the dance card for many of these new EVs.
The biggest reason is the failure of Australia to introduce basic measures such as strict compulsory fuel emissions standards, or to provide signals to consumers to make the switch, such as the highly successful solar rebate scheme.
That scheme alone, introduced by Labor in 2010, has handed Australia the title of highest solar output per capita in the world.
“Mass rollout of infrastructure is critical to increasing ZEV adoption in Australia as we begin to build consumer confidence in this new technology,” said Bill Thomas, GM for public relations at Hyundai Australia which sells three electric models locally, to The Driven in a note by email.
“However,” he said, “more can certainly be done, such as an accelerated mandate for minimum fuel standards, which currently lag behind the rest of the developed world.”
Thomas notes the “positive consumer reaction to recent state government initiatives introducing consumer incentives for ZEV adoption,” and says that, “Other advanced markets have shown how beneficial and popular these policies can be.”
He adds, on the topic of fuel security: “Another factor less talked about is fuel security: if we transition to zero-emission vehicles powered by green energy, Australia becomes less reliant on imported fuels.”
These are important points. The topic of tax incentives was echoed in a statement to The Driven from MG, which has achieved the rank of second-most popular EV in Australia with its ZS EV.
“While it is encouraging to see momentum in Australia’s uptake of electric vehicle technology we know that purchase price is one of the biggest barriers for consumers in Australia,” said a spokesperson from MG Motor Australia and New Zealand.
“Subsidies in countries overseas have assisted with growing adoption rates overseas and MG Motor would love to see a holistic plan that incorporates not only charging infrastructure but incentives to fast track adoption at a retail level.”
Volkswagen has made its opinion on the matter absolutely clear – namely that fuel emissions standards are a must, and without them, Australia is a third-world for the automotive industry. It has said it has to delay the introduction of its all-electric ID series until there is more policy certainty.
This message has been repeated by Volvo, which has introduced the XC40 Recharge to Australia, although the Swedish-Chinese carmaker says thatm unlike VW, it will stoically “forge its own way” on the Australian EV market.
“The federal government’s recognising the growth of and the future of electric vehicles (and that) is a start,” said Volvo Australia’s Greg Bosnich in a note to The Driven.
“Infrastructure is paramount to giving the Australian public confidence in the future of electric propulsion. For us we do not wait for subsidies, or other forms of incentives,” he said.
Bosnich believes going all-electric by 2030 – or even sooner – is a distinct possibility.
“We believe that the future is electric and we are committed to being an all-electric company by 2030. As a matter of fact we want to make that even earlier for Australia. We forge our own way.”
Whether it can achieve this in the backwater that Australia seems to have become would indeed be something to cheer.
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.