State Budget to provide $18m boost for electric cars
The State Budget will have millions for new chargers for electric cars and a transition to a fully electric government fleet.
SA News
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More chargers will be promised and more electric government vehicles put on the streets under a State Budget funding boost.
The SA Electric Vehicle Action Plan, launched this year with $5m in seed funding, will be boosted with $18.3m in the budget on 10 November.
Energy Minister Dan van Holst Pellekaan said: “Consumers are saying there are two main barriers to electric vehicles which this policy will target – a lack of charging infrastructure and the availability of affordable models”.
“Headlining the plan is the creation of a statewide fast-charging network where the public can plug in their electric vehicles.
“To accelerate the availability of new models, the State Government fleet will transition to electric vehicles, while the plan calls on local government and corporate fleets to pledge similar.”
The uptake of electric vehicles in Australia has been slow, with the Federal Government estimating that EVs will reach only eight per cent of the new passenger vehicle fleet by 2025 and 27 per cent by 2030.
Mr van Holst Pellekaan said the action plan aimed to accelerate that, making electric vehicles the most common choice for new passenger vehicles by 2030, and the default choice by 2035.
“The funding will bring more models into South Australia and deliver a steady stream of affordable used electric vehicles after a few years of use in government and private fleets,’’ he said.
“The transition of the State Government fleet will help accelerate public charging infrastructure in the City of Adelaide, at hospitals, schools and transport hubs.”
