Is NVES the naloxone that will save Australia from its ute overdose?
Australia’s looming New Vehicle Efficiency Standard might just be the wake-up call we’ve neededCOMMENT
Forgive the inflammatory and perhaps triggering language but hear me out.
There’s a strong likelihood that the Australian government will enact new-vehicle emissions legislation that significantly penalises high-CO2-emitting vehicles like diesel utes and SUVs.
And these regulations will almost certainly take effect sooner rather than later – perhaps as early as the start of next year.
The top three best-selling new vehicles in Australia in 2023 were diesel utes. A swag of other models were near or top of the pops for other brands – and significant contributors to their respective brand’s volumes.
That trend has not waned in 2024.
In the absence of a step-change in ute powertrains, a New Vehicle Efficiency Standard (NVES) that better aligns Australian vehicle efficiency standards with those of ‘developed’ nations will mean that the emissions of these diesel utes will need to be offset by sales of more efficient vehicles. Or alternative emissions credits purchased. Or the cost of meeting NVES requirements (ie: paying fines) passed on to consumers.
Whichever is the case, it’s highly probable the salad days of the dual-cab 4x4 ute as Australia’s alternative family car will soon be a memory.
Many brands will need to reconsider the volume and/or pricing of these high-emissions vehicles. For some it could even be a step too far – their business models in Australia irrevocably changed.
While no-one wants to see businesses bashed, it’s not like emissions targets are new to the car industry… And frankly, brands that didn’t see this coming or are now claiming they need time to adjust are at best attempting to pull the wool over our eyes.
The fact is utes have been four-wheeled ATMs for many brands. They’re cheap to build, have long lifecycles and, for many, the development costs were amortised hundreds of thousands of units ago…
And they’ve been the ‘ka-ching’ that’s kept on ‘ka-chinging’ Down Under. For too long via various tax and tariff regimes we have incentivised Aussies to buy these low-tech commercial vehicles for use cases they are relatively poorly equipped to perform.
Sure, manufacturers have shoehorned in creature-comforts and improvement in powertrains and safety but, overall, the truth remains these vehicles are better suited to cattle ranches than school runs.
No doubt certain buyers need a dual-cab. In my book, they are not the estimated five or six out of 10 that sign on the dotted line for the increasingly blinged-up utes that have somehow become an almost default family car choice.
Adding several thousand dollars – perhaps even $10,000 – to the price tag of these vehicles might just be the wake-up call we need to make better new-car choices.
Related: What Australia’s New Vehicle Efficiency Standard means for consumers
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Related: Volkswagen Group Australia backs new federal emissions standard
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