Australia’s Federal Government has announced the nation’s first National Electric Vehicle (EV) Strategy and is also seeking input on a Fuel Efficiency Standard for Australia.
The EV Strategy will drive down costs and improve infrastructure in order to get more affordable and accessible electric vehicles on the market.
Minister for Climate Change and Energy, the Hon Chris Bowen said, “The Strategy sets a vision to increase the uptake of EVs to reduce our emissions and improve the wellbeing of Australians.”
Implementing initiatives from the Strategy will make it easier to charge an EV, reduce emissions and make EVs more affordable for Australians. Initiatives also focus on reducing the costs to Australians running their vehicles and expand EV availability and choice with a larger range of EVs.
The government has consulted across Australia with industry, unions, governments, business, and other key stakeholders on a consultation paper released in September 2022. More than 1,500 individuals and over 200 organisations provided their feedback.
Feedback from consultations noted improved cost, choice, availability, and accessibility of EV charging are fundamental for Australia’s successful transition to EVs.
Stakeholders also identified opportunities for national collaboration with state and territory governments to design and deliver the systems and infrastructure needed.
All eight Australian states and territories have agreed to six key areas of national collaboration with the Australian Government to encourage the uptake of EVs:
- National standards
- Data sharing
- EV affordability
- Remote and regional EV charging infrastructure
- Fleet procurement
- Education and awareness.
- The Fuel Efficiency Standard – Cleaner Cars for Australia
A Fuel Efficiency Standard for Australia
A key priority of the Strategy is the government’s commitment to introduce a Fuel Efficiency Standard for Australia. The Standard will set an average carbon emissions limit, that decreases over time, across all new light vehicles sold by each vehicle supplier in the market.
More efficient vehicles will produce fewer emissions – meaning their environmental impact is lower, and they are cheaper for motorists to run. Passenger cars makeup almost 10 per cent of Australia’s CO2 emissions.
Australia and Russia are among the only developed countries that don’t have fuel efficiency standards.
The absence of a standard has meant Australians households and businesses are missing out on greater choice of car models and paying more in fuel costs to run their cars because manufacturers prioritise sending more efficient vehicles to countries with standards in place.
On average, new cars in Australia use 40 per cent more fuel than the European Union, 20 per cent more than the United States, and 15 per cent more than New Zealand.
A well-designed standard will help reduce fuel costs for Australian motorists and improve the supply and variety of EVs coming into the Australian market.
Previous analysis has shown that the introduction of a fuel efficiency standard could save motorists $519 per year in fuel costs.
Minister for Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government, Catherine King said it offers an historic opportunity to develop fuel efficiency standards that learn from international best practice, while recognising the unique needs of Australians.
“More than 85 per cent of all cars sold in the world are subject to fuel efficiency standards. It’s time Australians were offered the same choice.”
The Government has published a consultation paper seeking input on how the Standard should be designed.
Following the consultation, the government will release its proposed Fuel Efficiency Standard by the end of 2023.
