One million EVs: 100 Australian companies urge rapid uptake of electric vehicles

A coalition of more than 100 companies are pushing the Australian federal government to get one  million electric vehicles on the road in the next five years.

The group, which includesretail and insurance, right through to agriculture and banking, wants a range of strong policy measures brought in to encourage the private and commercial use of EVs.

These include fuel efficiency levels on par with those already used by New Zealand, the US and Europe; an investment in EV manufacturing; more fast charging stations in the regions and suburbs; support for commercial use of EVs; and to develop economic modelling to show the benefits of EVs such as less pollution.

The target for 2027 would require an average of nearly 250,000 new EVs to be rolled out each year over the next four years, a share of almost 25 per cent of new car sales and a dramatic rise from current levels.

Before this year’s federal election, Labor promised 3.8 million EVs on Australian roads by 2030. It is currently asking for submissions to its National Electric Vehicle Strategy to flesh out which policies it will take to Parliament.

Already small businesses are saying they’d look at buying EVs if the government removes the fringe benefit tax on models worth less than $84,916.

With diesel prices set to continue rising, the light commercial sector where companies that do many city deliveries like Ikea and Woolworths will be one of the main winners from policy measures that support more EV use such as more fast chargers outside inner city locations.

“A strong, national EV strategy with targeted policy for the freight and logistics sector will enable the retail sector to accelerate its contribution to transport emissions reductions, enabling sustainable delivery options for Australians,” said Ikea fulfilment sourcing manager Brendan Groll.

Ikea wants its transport fleet to be fully electric in Australia by 2025.

After years of governments ignoring the EV sector, Australia now needs robust policies to not only put a dent in transport emissions but also ensure the country can take part in the global opportunity provided by EVs, says Electric Vehicle Council chief executive Behyad Jafari.

“If we get this EV Strategy right, the opportunities are enormous,” he said.

“We could be employing tens of thousands of Australians building batteries, chargers, cars, buses, and trucks. We’ll be cutting pollution from transport and doing our fair share to combat climate change. And we’ll be reducing our reliance on foreign oil by using Australian energy to move.

“Australian business understands that transport should be doing its share of heavy lifting on the path to net zero. If we don’t put a big dent in our transport emissions, by getting more EVs on the roads, it will put unsustainable pressure on other sectors like farming, manufacturing, construction, mining and energy.

Jafari said the absence of a fuel efficiency standard is largely to blame as manufacturers overlook Australia in favour of others who have more ambitious plans. Australia and Russia are the only countries in the OECD which do not have fuel efficiency standards.

This has turned Australia into a dumping country for dirty internal combustion vehicles that can’t be sold anywhere else.

It has also slowed demand for EVs. But this is rapidly changing. The Electric Vehicle Council says their latest data shows a 65 per cent jump in EV sales in the past 12 months, admittedly from a very low base.

The list of companies and organisations calling for one million EVs are:

ABB
ActewAGL
Australian Electric Vehicle Association
AGL Energy
Amber
ANC
Arrival
AUSEV
Ausgrid
Australian Hydrogen Council
Australian Trucking Association
Bank Australia
Beyond Zero Emissions
BMW Group (BMW and MINI)
Bortana
Boundless
Brighte
BYD
Carbar
Clean Energy Council
Climate Action Network Australia
Climate Energy Finance
Committee for Sydney
ConnectSource
Custom Denning
Custom Fleet
Delta Energy
Doctors for the Environment
Ebusco
Electric Vehicle Council
Electrical Trades Union
Energy Efficiency Council
Energy Renaissance
Energylab
Environment Victoria
Europcar
EVenergi
Everty
Evie Networks
Evolution
EVSE
EVUP
Farmers for Climate Action
FIMER
Fonz
Foton Mobility
GEMtek
Geotab
GET Electric
Girl Geek Academy
Good Car Co
Greenpeace
Hanson
Heavy Vehicle Industry Association
Hertz
IKEA Australia
Jaguar LandRover
Jaunt
JETCharge
JLL
JOLT Charge
Karmo
LDV
Linfox
MG Motors
Microsoft
Middy’s Electrical
Motion Energy
Motorsport Safety & Rescue
Myenergi
National Electrical and Communications Association
Nexport
Noodoe
NRMA
NSW Nature Conservation Council
Origin
Pepper Money
Polestar
Pollination Capital
Renault
Rewiring Australia
ROEV
SA Power Networks
Savic Motorcycles
Schneider Electric
SEA Electric
SG Fleet
Sixt
Smart Energy Council
Solar Citizens
Splend
St Baker Energy Innovation Fund
Tesla
The Australia Institute
Transurban
Tritium
Uber
Volvo Cars, Volvo Bus and Truck
Wallbox
Woolworths Group
WSP