As more people buy EVs and hybrids, the burden of paying for the road network will increasingly fall on the remaining petrol or diesel vehicle owners. That isn’t fair or equitable treatment.
For some years now, the federal government has been aware that a decline in fuel excise (about 46¢ per litre for cars) is an inevitable accompaniment to the rise of electric vehicles.
Motorist associations and heavy vehicle representatives see it too. Self-evidently, if fuel excise is how road users pay for the maintenance and future upgrades to the road network, then as more people buy electric vehicles or hybrids (with hybrids already a mainstream choice, and grid-powered vehicles now exceeding 15 per cent of new vehicle sales) the burden of paying for the road network will increasingly fall on remaining petrol or diesel vehicle owners. This isn’t fair or equitable treatment.
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Peter Harris is the former Chair of the Productivity Commission.
