Electric Vehicle Council Praises ACT Initiative

The Electric Vehicle Council of Australia has today released a statement supporting the ACT government's new policy to encourage increased use of electric vehicles.

"The ACT is already leading the Australian market in terms of per capita uptake rates of electric vehicles and deployment of charging infrastructure," Electric Vehicle Council CEO, Behyad Jafari was quoted as saying in the statement.

"This is driven by their existing stamp duty exemption and registration discounts for zero-emission vehicles. The Action Plan released today will see the ACT cement their position as policy leaders on electric vehicles in Australia."

Presented today by ACT Minister for Climate Change and Sustainability, Shane Rattenbury, and Minister for Transport and City Services, Meegan Fitzharris, the document is titled 'The Transition to Zero Emissions Vehicles Action Plan 2018-2021'. Key components of the plan include mandatory installation of charge points in new higher-density housing developments and a new government fleet purchasing policy restricted to electric passenger vehicles from 2021. There's an escape clause for the fleet management staff, however: the EVs must be 'fit for purpose'.

Additionally, the government will roll out more charging points on major roads throughout the ACT and electric vehicles will be permitted to use transit lanes in peak hour. According to the government press release, the ACT expects to be drawing 100 per cent of its electricity needs from sustainable sources within two years, proportionally raising transport's greenhouse gas contributions to over 60 per cent from that point.

"The ACT is now at the forefront of supportive policy environments for the electric vehicle industry in Australia," Behyad Jafari observed.

"Our recent ‘Recharging the Economy' report assessed the benefits of Australia achieving uptake rates of electric vehicles in line with those seen in Norway, a leading market. It showed that electric vehicle uptake at these rates in Australia can provide an economic benefit of $2.9 billion by 2030, and increase net employment by 13,400 jobs. We also found that drivers would be saving $1,700 a year because of the lower costs to run an EV in comparison to an internal combustion engine.

"We welcome the commitment of 100 per cent of the government's own new passenger vehicle fleet being zero emission vehicles by 2020/21 where fit for purpose. This will send a strong signal to the electric vehicle industry to bring more models to market, and provide flow on benefits to consumers.

"Consumers will benefit as well, with the Action Plan providing electric vehicles with access to transit lanes which will shorten commute times. This is on top of the existing stamp duty and registration benefits available in the ACT, which can save drivers over $2,000 for a new $60,000 vehicle.

"The Action Plan also rightly targets electric vehicle charging infrastructure. Our surveys of consumer attitudes show that availability of charging infrastructure is a major barrier to uptake. Proposed actions include mandating installation of charging infrastructure in all new multi-unit and mixed-use developments and facilitating inter-regional charging installations.

"The ACT's continued leadership on this issue is welcome by the electric vehicle industry, and sets the benchmark for other governments to measure themselves against."