BMW slams Australian government

BMW has called for Australian government support for low and zero-emissions vehicles as it embarks on the range-wide rollout of its i Performance plug-in vehicle sub-brand locally.

The carefully choreographed announcement, which follows similar calls from other luxury car-makers, was made at a 'BMW Range Day' event last week, when the German car-maker invited 35 journalists to drive 30 of its latest models, including a number of plug-in hybrid vehicles.

"It's clear from a global perspective that low emission vehicle technology is the way of the future," said BMW Group Australia managing director Marc Werner.

"Billions of dollars have been invested and are still being invested to bring this tech to the general public. Across the world we can see the change in consumer behaviour working towards a cleaner future and it's not just BMW that is saying this.

"The vast majority of automotive brands are engaged in this pursuit and it's time for the Australian government to act.

"No more discussions. I call on Mr Malcolm Turnbull and the federal government to finally action a robust policy to support the introduction of low-emission vehicles to the Australian market.

"We all know how it could be dome. We all know it is possible. And the time has certainly come. What a great start to the year that would be. We continue to live in hope that this well be the year where we see some progress from the government."
Government discussion
The announcement by BMW, which follows its December commitment to open 40 electric vehicle charging stations in partnership with Westfield shopping centres, comes as the federal government considers abolishing its controversial luxury car tax in favour of green vehicle incentives.

Last February a dedicated government forum issued a discussion paper targeting future vehicle emissions, and the future of LCT within a wider overhaul of vehicle emission legislation in Australia.

“One section of the discussion paper (section 5.4) discussed taxes and charges on vehicles, including the Luxury Car Tax, and sought feedback on how these could be reformed to encourage the supply of more efficient vehicles,” a spokesperson for the Department of the Environment and Energy told motoring.com.au last September.

“Feedback on the discussion paper is assisting the government in its consideration of potential measures. The government is due to decide on new vehicle emissions measures in early 2017 following advice from the working group under the forum. Further consultation with interested parties will take place before a decision is made by the government.”

Meantime, several Australian state and territory governments – led by South Australia and Queensland -- are contemplating support of their own for green vehicles.

The moves follow ongoing lobbying from car-makers including Tesla to remove state-based stamp duty and registration fees, offer transit lane use and support assisting infrastructure as a means of encouraging green car adoption.
Government inaction
While many Australian states offer minor forms of electric car incentive, our adoption rate of the technology is low compared with the rest of the world. As it stands, less than one per cent of all new vehicles sold in Australia are electric.

In contrast, regions like Norway and California have relatively high rates of EV due to generous government tax breaks.

Car-makers like Mercedes-Benz and Tesla have been vocal in their opposition to LCT, which is currently imposed at a rate of 33 cents for every dollar of a vehicle’s price (and the cost of its options, if any) over $63,184, excluding on-road costs.

Vehicles which consume less than 7.0L/100km are subject to a higher ‘green-car’ threshold of $75,375 plus ORCs.

Last week BMW made clear its support for the abolishment of LCT as part of a wider vehicle and emissions taxation regime change.

"Over the past several years there has been a lot of talk from different governments about various social topics concerning the improvement of the sustainable automotive landscape including fuel quality the implementation of Euro 6, the reduction of CO2 gas, the improvement of vehicle emissions in oz and the impact of luxury car tax," said Werner.

"Well the time for talking is over and it's time for some action. We need to break Australia's embarrassing silence on environmental topics and start doing something."

Werner said the end of Australian car-making was the right time to abolish LCT.

"Due to the cessation of local production here in Australia I don't see any reason why we have to maintain the current luxury car tax or the way it is in place now.

"It would certainly be a lever or an opportunity to modify the current tax regime and maybe put something more intelligent in place."
EV sales slow
Werner said Australia lagged behind comparable countries when it came to low-emissions vehicles, both overall and in BMW terms.

"Local [sales] results for the BMW i brand have been consistent with our expectations but we are still not at international levels ... and we are still not where we should be in 2017," he said.

"We intend to extend the BMW i and i Performance range in 2017, but we can't do it alone.

"The time has come for the government to join the party. If you look at Norway the government has a very clear strategy to make Norway the cleaner environment for everyone involved.

"It can really work. It can be dollar incentives, for example, which seems to work in Norway and even Germany, where the government and industry decided to provide euro incentives for LEVs.

"Since that was implemented sales of LEVs have gone through the roof and that is exactly what we'd like to see here as well."

The BMW Australia chief also called on government support for EV charging infrastructure.

"It's not only about dollar incentives when it comes to customers who purchase vehicles. It also needs to go hand in hand with the necessary infrastructure, and that is something that Australia has a challenge on its own – the big spread between cities.

"But it's possible. We currently see that in New Zealand, which at the moment is the front-runner in terms of the rollout of infrastructure. We can certainly learn from our neighbour and I believe Australians can definitely do better.

"It's not only government that needs to provide the necessary infrastructure and incentives, but it's also the OEMs that are working hand in hand because we can't do it alone.

"My colleagues from the other OEMs have the same mission and the same vision -- we want to launch not only the strategy but we are joining forces to ensure the rollout of this technology."

BMW's i sub-brand includes the i3 hatch, i8 super-coupe and, soon, the 'i-NEXT', while its newer i Performance sub-brand comprises the 330i, X5 40e and, soon, the 530i and 740i.

The German car-maker has committed to an all-electric version of its X3 by 2020, and both electric and plug-in hybrid models from its MINI brand.

"The BMW i Performance brand offers the widest range of electric and plug-in hybrid models of any premium manufacturer including Tesla," said Werner.

"Already BMW is the most successful plug-in hybrid electric vehicle brand in the premium sector. This applies to absolute numbers as well as coverage of the model line up. Others talk about it, we deliver."

To date, BMW has sold more than 100,000 EVs globally, with BMW exceeding its global target of 60,000 sales in 2016. Of that number, however, just 124 were sold in Australia.

Last year just 65 electric cars were privately purchased in Australia (down almost 70 per cent on 2015), with 101 EVs bought by fleets – down more than 30 per cent.