Australia’s most generous EV rebate scheme ends after just two years

The most generous electric vehicle (EV) rebate in the country is over, as Queensland shuts down its program from midnight on Monday, leaving just two states – Tasmania and Western Australia – as the last to offer any rebates on EVs.

The Queensland rebate started out at $3,000, but in mid 2023 morphed into the country’s most generous offer of up to $6000 for households earning up to $180,000 a year, and for cars priced up to $68,000.

It was supposed to run for three years, but will close on Monday after just two years, after “over 10,000” Queenslanders took up the offer. 

EVs now make up 1 per cent of the total car fleet in the state with 46,000 vehicles registered, compared to 0.2 per cent in 2022 when Queensland only had 9,100 EVs registered. 

The government says the change is justified, given the significant decreases in the price of new cars with the price of popular models dropping from between as much as 10- 30 percent since the end of 2023. 

Even though the supply of cheaper EVs to Australia has rocketed in the last year, the Queensland government credits its scheme with a doubling of models on offer to drivers in the state.

The state is still aiming for half of all new car sales by 2030 to be electric, although government data shows it reached 8.5 per cent in the year to June. 

“The success of the scheme demonstrates Queensland Government’s commitment towards encouraging cleaner, greener transport modes and supporting the transition to EVs,” said Transport and Main Roads minister Bart Mellish.

“Queensland led the nation in supporting the purchase of new electric vehicles, and… was successful in driving electric vehicle uptake in Queensland, with a fourfold increase in EV cars registered since the start of the scheme two years ago.”

Queensland follows other states into investing in public fast EV charging infrastructure, and offering lower registration fees and duties as incentives to shift electric. 

However, subsidies may shift some people into an EV but they aren’t the only motivator for making the switch, if stats from the first half of the year are an indication. 

The highest penetration of EVs in the first half of 2024 was in ACT, where 21.7 per cent of cars sold were electric, according to data from FCAI and the EV Council.

It was followed by New South Wales (NSW) and Queensland at 8.1 per cent, Victoria and Western Australia at 7.5 per cent, South Australia at 7 per cent, Tasmania at 6.7 per cent and the Northern Territory at 3.1 per cent.

NSW, Victoria and South Australia have ended their rebates. Tasmania still offers a rebate of $2,000 and W.A. $3,500.