“This is about freedom of choice:” Bowen moves to break down barriers to EVs

Federal climate change and energy minister Chris Bowen has announced Labor will soon release a discussion paper on fuel emissions standards in a move that could break down the biggest barrier to the uptake of electric vehicles in Australia.

Labor is about to release its National Electric Vehicle Strategy, and at its core will be a focus on the need for a fuel emissions standard, cited as the main reason Australian consumers have access to a limited and expensive range of EVs, and why EV adoption is the lowest in the western world.

“This is ultimately about choice.  Freedom of choice,” Bowen will say in the opening address to the EV Summit in Canberra on Friday.

“Policy settings are denying Australians real choice of good, affordable, no emissions cars. In fact, when asked, more than one in two people said they would consider buying electric for their next vehicle – but the actual number of cars sold shows there are serious barriers which need to be addressed.

“We believe that now is the time to have an orderly and sensible discussion about whether vehicle fuel efficiency standards could help improve the supply of electric vehicles into the Australian market, to address the cost-of-living impacts of inefficient cars, and to reduce emissions from the transport sector. ”

The approach by Labor, of course, is the direct opposite to the previous Coalition government, which had mocked Labor’s approach in the 2019 campaign, warning EVs would ruin the weekend, and the economy. “They won’t tow your boat,” then prime minister Scott Morrison infamously said.

Labor didn’t broach the topic in the lead up to the latest election, but the call for a fuel emissions standard has snowballed, with most major car makers – with the notable exception of Toyota and the main car lobby – supportive of tight and binding standards.

Car makers such as VW have not brought EVs to Australia, or have only done so in limited numbers, because they focus their deliveries in markets which have strong standards, and where they need a sizeable number of EVs to meet those standards.

The Greens and the independents are also supportive, and a whole slew of reports and analyses released over the past few weeks point to the massive savings in emissions, health benefits, and costs to consumers from the transition to EVs; and having fuel standards that will stop Australia being a dumping ground for dirty, inefficient and costly cars.

Australia’s uptake of EVs stood at only 2 per cent in 2021, below the double digit figures in Europe, the near 90 per cent figure in Norway, and an expected global rate of 13 per cent in 2022.

However, studies show Australians are keen to switch to EVs in their next car purchase, and the huge number of Tesla Model 3 and Model Ys – despite their price of around $70,000 or more – and the queues for other popular models such as the Ioniq 5, the  Kia EVs, and the new lower cost BYD Atto 3 and the updated MG ZS EV are testament to that.