FCAI to lobby government for green concessions

The Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries has revealed it is in talks with federal government ministers about the lack of support in the public sector for environmentally friendly electric vehicles.

Speaking earlier this week, during the announcement of VFACTS results for 2015, the Chamber's Chief Executive, Tony Weber, told journalists that the automotive industry had plucked most of the low-hanging fruit in the pursuit of reduced CO2 emissions across the Australian parc. The time had come, Weber said, for government to step up, as the US government has done for vehicles like the new Chevrolet Bolt (pictured with GM CEO Mary Barra). And it's not just the commonwealth government that owes a duty to the people of Australia to make electric vehicles (EVs) more affordable. State and local governments can help too.

"New passenger cars, SUVs and light commercial vehicles contribute less than one per cent of Australia's total annual greenhouse gas emissions," Weber stated.

"While the contribution is low, vehicle manufacturers selling light vehicles in Australia are committed to developing and delivering new technologies that reduce CO2 emissions.

"Their commitment shows in the average, year-on-year reduction of 2.4 per cent over the past decade. Cumulatively that's more than a 20 per cent improvement in a decade.

"It's also important to understand that further reductions require a whole-of-government approach. And the FCAI will work with the government to ensure all areas of vehicle emissions are understood.

"The whole-of-government approach needs to implement policies for vehicle technology, fuel quality, alternative fuels and energy platforms, driver behaviour, infrastructure improvements to improve congestion, price signals and reducing the age of the in-service fleet.

"The FCAI and its members are working with the government on this matter, and recently attended the first meeting of the government's ministerial forum. That is undertaking a whole-of-government approach to vehicle emissions.

"I'm pleased the Australian government is looking to industries to provide real-world information on the important issue of emissions reduction."

Industry, from a global perspective, is finding new and innovative ways to increase electrification/hybridisation of conventional internal-combustion vehicles, and is making gradual gains in battery technology and economies of scale to see the price of environmentally-friendly drivetrain technology come down.

But in Australia the pace of CO2 reduction is bound to plateau while we natives resist paying more for green-car technology. That's where Weber sees the government stepping in.

"What we're saying to the government is that there's been quite a remarkable reduction in CO2 emissions from the Australian fleet over the last decade.

"I doubt that there's any other sector that has actually contributed more in the last decade than what new cars have done, in terms of CO2 reductions.

"The question then becomes, if you want to escalate that process and continue it... something needs to give. And that's why we say to the government there needs to be a whole-of-government approach..."

Some aspects of what Weber and the FCAI propose could be implemented at relatively low cost. Educating drivers to use fuel sparingly could reap benefits without costing the government a fortune. One simple example of that in action would be taking the kids out of the car on a hot day so you can actually turn off the engine, rather than leave it idling to power the air conditioning for 20 minutes.

"Driver behaviour is a big issue here – actually educating people about what they can do to change the way in which they drive, to actually improve their own efficiency," said Weber, who noted too that increased spending on roadside furniture – such as intelligent traffic lights, for instance – would yield further gains.

"Infrastructure improvements are critical. This is why we see Co-operative Intelligent Transport Systems as so important. I've seen figures that with Co-operative Intelligent Transport Systems brought into the market, you could get a 10 per cent reduction in emissions. That's quite remarkable... not only to say what it does for safety and congestion."

Perhaps most importantly of all is what Weber refers to as 'price signals' – essentially subsidising new car purchases for electric vehicles, plug-ins and even conventional hybrids.

"Price signals are important," Weber said. "Other countries... give advantages to people who purchase environmentally more friendly vehicles. We don't have those kinds of initiatives here. If you want to make a big step forward you need to consider that, and the government needs to put that in place.

"And that's not only an issue for the commonwealth government, but state and local governments as well."

The final piece of the puzzle is reducing the age of the national parc, the FCAI boss concluded.

"If you want to be serious about this, you need to reduce the age of your fleet. Newer vehicles are more fuel-efficient, friendlier to the environment..."

The FCAI, its members and their respective dealer networks are only too happy to assist with that. And most consumers are willing accomplices too. According to Weber, the age of the parc is down to 10 years, which means not only are there many more cars on the road today that emit fewer CO2 particles, but there are also far fewer older cars on the road emitting higher concentrations of CO2.

According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, the annual attrition rate (vehicles taken off the road each year) is now over 700,000. So with the FCAI's members feeding 1.1 million new cars into the market place each year, nett growth is around 400,000 vehicles. That's roughly double the rate of population growth, so implicit in that number is the faster flow-through of cars from first owners to used-car buyers.

We seem to be buying newer cars sooner, because we have enjoyed a long period of cashed up and carefree consumerism. Weber doesn't appear to believe that the lower age of the parc has been in any way driven out of environmental concerns.

"I think that the debate hasn't matured in this country as far as it has in some other countries..." he observed.

That explains in part why the FCAI is tackling government. It's just one debating team to 'shirtfront'... Headed by a new prime minister who appears to be more amenable to discussing environmental issues, the government may be open to assisting companies selling plug-ins, EVs and hybrids – and those consumers buying them.

"We're going to go through the entirety of the debate with the government," Weber says. "You need to put all these elements on the table, that you do not get the enormous gains that are potentially out there unless there is a contribution from the government, and a change in the environment in which we operate.

"That includes things like refuelling stations; you need to have transport that works for people and therefore you need the infrastructure in all its many guises in place to make it work."

So fuel cell vehicles appear to figure in the FCAI's strategy too.