NSW to drop electric vehicle rebate
Australia’s biggest market joins Victoria by ending EV incentives; focus for NSW switches to charge pointsThe New South Wales government will axe its $3000 electric vehicle rebate in the New Year and redirect funds towards bolstering the state’s EV charging infrastructure as sales of low- and zero-emissions vehicles continue to soar.
The controversial move includes the stamp duty exemptions which have nurtured a huge sales surge over the past 12 months, with 14,192 new EVs registered in NSW between September 1, 2021, and August 31, 2023.
According to the Sydney Morning Herald, NSW treasurer Daniel Mookhey will announce the move tomorrow as part of his budget presentation.
It will save the state’s coffers an estimated $527 million, although $260m of this will reportedly be repurposed to improve the availability of EV infrastructure for regional motorists and those without access to home charging.
The revelation has drawn fire from EV advocates and supporters, including the Electric Vehicle Council (EVC) which described it as a “betrayal of voters”.
“I doubt the people who voted for this government thought they were voting to cut electric vehicle incentives to fund handouts to coal-fired power stations,” said EV Council CEO Behyad Jafari.
“The NSW incentives, combined with more affordable EV imports, were just starting to drive significant uptake in Sydney’s west and the state’s regions.
“By reintroducing stamp duty for EVs the NSW Government has broken faith with voters.”
Jafari urged the NSW Parliament to reject the changes in the name of the state’s “outstanding progress on EV uptake”.
The state government’s own data shows the more than 14,100 new EVs on NSW roads have collectively reduced annual tailpipe emissions by about 5100 tonnes.
Notably, only 4125 of the 25,000 available rebates had been issued as of August 31, meaning there are still more than 20,000 rebates ($3000) up for grabs in conjunction with the waived stamp duty.
Victoria was the first state to call time on its EV incentives (on June 30), despite more than 2500 individual rebates still available at the time. The scheme was originally meant to run until May 2024.
Related: Which Australian states offer the best EV incentives?
Related: NSW commits an extra $38m to EV charging
Related: NSW to offer EV incentives too
For everything you auto know about EVs, listen to carsales' Watts Under the Bonnet: the electric car podcast
Join the conversation at
Or email us at
Or email us at
Tags
Please see our Editorial Guidelines & Code of Ethics (including for more information about sponsored content and paid events). The information published on this website is of a general nature only and doesn’t consider your particular circumstances or needs.
