“Car park for clunkers:” Australian drivers have wasted $4 billion on fuel

Australians have already paid a big price on wasted fuel, and the fuel bill for inaction on vehicle efficiency will accelerate without the adoption of effective new standards, the federal government warns.

Climate Change and Energy Minister Chris Bowen will tell an industry audience on Thursday to get behind the new vehicle efficiency standards that will force the car industry to import more efficient models.

Australia’s top-selling car maker Toyota is leading a pushback – supported by the federal Coalition – on the new rules that are set to take effect in 2025, saying few models sold here meet the standard, which is the point advocates have been making for years.

With more than 85 per cent of the world’s car market already covered by efficiency standards, Australia is missing out on the cleanest, cheapest-to-run cars, according to the independent Climate Council.

Effective standards would stop Australia being a “car park for clunkers” and could also unlock more models of electric vehicles – for households and businesses, advocates say.

The former coalition government proposed vehicle efficiency standards, saying it would cut petrol bills, but parked the policy amid party ructions after consultations with industry ended seven years ago.

“It’s been tried before.” said minister Bowen.

“In fact, it was in the environment policy that John Howard took to the 2001 Federal election. But they didn’t implement it.”

“The Turnbull Government tried it. Josh Frydenberg and Paul Fletcher were eloquent advocates for efficiency standards. They correctly said that efficiency standards would not see car prices go up. They argued that using less petrol would save motorists money.

“We supported them from opposition, but they couldn’t get it past the climate-denying right-wing of their own party.”

He said Australians have since wasted around $4 billion unnecessarily on fuel and the  fuel bill is ticking higher, with Labor’s preferred model of standards forecast to save motorists $12 billion in fuel costs by 2030 and $108 billion by 2050.

with AAP