Major new survey finds one in two Tasmanians plan to buy an electric vehicle for their next car

A major new survey has revealed just how many Tasmanians plan to buy an electric vehicle for their next car, as calls mount for the state government to implement a transport emissions reduction target.

RACT Chief Advocacy Officer Garry Bailey. Picture: Chris Kidd

One in two Tasmanians are likely to buy an electric vehicle for their next car but the purchase price and a lack of charging infrastructure across the state continue to be deterrents, a major new survey has found.

The Tasmanian Policy Exchange (TPE), which is the University of Tasmania’s policy arm, in partnership with RACT and the Mercury, conducted the survey, designed to gauge Tasmanians’ attitudes to emissions reduction efforts in the transport sector.

It attracted responses from 850 Tasmanians, with 53 per cent saying they were either very likely or likely to buy an electric vehicle (EV) for their next car purchase.

Brooker Highway at Austins Ferry looking towards Granton. Picture: Chris Kidd

Asked whether they thought the Tasmanian government should establish a clear transport sector emissions reduction target by 2030, 61 per cent said yes, while 57 per cent supported an EV sales target.

Cars account for about 63 per cent of the state’s total emissions, with the 516,000 vehicles registered in Tasmania emitting a total of about 1.75m tonnes of CO2 per year.

Seventy per cent of respondents to the survey said they supported a subsidy or rebate to reduce the cost of EVs but only 50 per cent backed a surcharge or tax on new petrol and diesel vehicles in order to fund such an incentive.

The main factors deterring Tasmanians from purchasing an EV were the price (71 per cent), a relative lack of charging infrastructure (66 per cent), range anxiety (53 per cent) and a lack of suitable vehicle models (47 per cent).

Increasing the amount of public charging infrastructure across the state was seen by the majority of respondents (74 per cent) as the policy most likely to improve the likelihood of them purchasing an EV.

TPE director Richard Eccleston said while he expected EV uptake to keep increasing rapidly over the coming years, the survey had highlighted the need to “quickly” scale up public charging infrastructure.

Director of Tasmanian Policy Exchange at UTAS, Professor Richard Eccleston and Chief Experience Officer at RACT, Karla Wasinski. Picture: Linda Higginson

“While most EVs will be charged at home, within a year or two we’ll need large-scale fast charging stations on the Midland and Bass highways to support inter-city travel,” Professor Eccleston said.

Another theme emerging from the survey was concern regarding the state of public transport on the island, with 76 per cent saying they would be more likely to use it if services were more reliable.

RACT chief advocacy officer Garry Bailey said Tasmania’s EV charging network needed to be expanded as a priority and the state had to ensure “our power grid can handle the increase in home charging of EVs”.

“To ensure equity, the transport tax regime needs to be reformed, not only to remove taxes that restrict the sale of low-emission vehicles, but to ensure EVs contribute to funding for our roads, as internal combustion engine vehicles do through the fuel excise,” he said.

KEY FIGURES:

• 850 Tasmanians surveyed
• 53 per cent likely to buy electric vehicle for next car purchase
• 61 per cent think Tasmanian government should establish transport sector emissions reduction target
• 70 per cent support subsidy or rebate to reduce cost of EVs
• 74 per cent believe increasing amount of charging infrastructure the policy most likely to improve likelihood of them purchasing an EV

Source: Tasmanian Policy Exchange transport emissions reduction survey

Originally published as Major new survey finds one in two Tasmanians plan to buy an electric vehicle for their next car