Half of new cars to be electric under Labor

The Labor Party has set ambitious targets for electric cars in Australia, setting a 2030 deadline for most buyers to make the switch to battery power.

Electric cars such as the Jaguar I-Pace will play an important role in the road mix.

Electric cars will play a key role in Australia’s transport mix under a Labor government.

Mark Butler, shadow minister for climate change and energy, tweeted on Monday morning that Labor will implement Australia’s first national electric vehicle policy, setting a national EV target of 50 per cent of new car sales by 2030 “and introducing vehicle emissions standards to reduce pollution and make the cost of driving a car cheaper”.

The Labor Party will outline its plan to reduce emissions on Monday, including the introduction of CO2 emissions standards for new cars — something in place in most developed countries.

It is expected to introduce electric vehicle incentives for businesses and set strong targets for electric cars within government fleets.

Speaking on ABC’s News Breakfast TV program, Mr Butler said Australia must act “because across the world the car industry is shifting very very quickly to electric vehicle technology”.

“That’s because the rest of the world is putting in place policies to encourage that,” he said.

“Australia is now the country with the lowest take up of electric vehicles in the OECD, we’re the only country without fuel efficiency standards, this means that pollution is rising on our roads and that pollution is rising faster than it should be.

“It’s time for Australia to get back in line with what the rest of the world is doing on electric vehicles.”

Tesla does not counts its cars among industry figures. The Model 3 arrices in Australia this year. (Photo by JUNG Yeon-Je / AFP)

Industry figures show Australians bought about 1350 electric cars in 2018, a fraction of the 1.15 million cars sold overall.

Electric vehicles have been niche models historically, but a raft of new vehicles around the corner, including a new Nissan Leaf, Mercedes-Benz EQ and Audi e-tron, gives motorists more options.

Labor’s targets allow for hybrid and conventional combustion-powered vehicles to remain in Australia’s transport mix, unlike Greens policy which calls for new petrol and diesel vehicles to be banned from the road network.

The Morrison Government has not set firm targets for fuel efficiency or electric vehicles.

The Department of Infrastructure floated emissions standards for new cars to manufacturers in 2017, but then-Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull chose not to push for minimum efficiency standards for future models.

Energy Minister Josh Frydenberg told the ABC at the time “there is as much chance of a carbon tax on cars as Elvis making a comeback”.

Australia’s EV charging network is building.

Mr Butler said Labor’s proposal would place Australia more in line with the US than Europe, accounting for our preference for large larger vehicles and longer-distance driving.

Full details of the party’s plan for electric vehicles have not been revealed.

“We need to make sure that we’ve got infrastructure and other arrangements in place to take account of this global shift to electric vehicles,” Mr Butler said.

“Very few people do have electric cars in Australia.

“We buy electric cars at a rate of about one tenth of the average around the world and that needs to change.”

Originally published as Half of new cars to be electric under Labor