Randwick Council partner with Good Car Company in electric vehicle bulk buy scheme

Residents in Sydney’s east will soon have the chance to get cheaper electric vehicles quicker than the general market under an Australian-first partnership.

The environmental and running cost benefits of owning an electric vehicle (EV) motivated Bill Maclean to make the switch about a year ago, but the lack of availability was a serious barrier.

“There’s a big backlog trying to get certain EVs,” the South Coogee man said. “Where as now we (Randwik LGA residents) have the advantage of the vehicles being delivered earlier than what we would be able to get if we were going alone.”

Mr Maclean was referring to the Australian-first partnership between Randwick Council and the Good Car Company, which aims to make electric vehicles more affordable and accessible for the community.

Under the bulk buy scheme, residents in Sydney’s east can buy or order a range of new and used electric cars starting at $28,000.

“Some of these vehicles available through the bulk buy are less than half what we would be able to get in the market,” Mr Maclean said. “The convenience is also good – just being able to talk to some people and get some advice.”

Bill Maclean has registered to Randwick Council’s bulk buy scheme

NewsLocal compared some prices of the cheapest EVs offered through Randwick Council’s EV scheme with those on the second hand market and found they were generally cheaper, but savings varied greatly.

For instance, the scheme offered a Nissan Leaf AZE0 with a 30kWh battery for $28,000, about $7000 cheaper than the same model offered by another car dealer.

Good Car Company co-founder Anthony Broese van Groenou and his children with their Nissan Leaf at Hobart. Picture: Chris Kidd

Buyers could save around $9000 under the scheme on the newer 2019 Nissan LEAF ZE1 Auto with a 40kWh, which was advertised about $9000 cheaper than the same models online with a similar number of kilometres driven.

But what seemed to be the biggest drawcard for Mr Maclean was the efficiency, with the Good Car Company promising a turnaround of about five months for most models, where others were reportedly facing up to two-year waits due to a major supply and production crisis across the globe.

Randwick mayor Dylan Parker said he’s excited for the uptake of EVs in his LGA

Co-founder and director of the Good Car Company Anthony Broese van Groenou said the biggest savings under the scheme came via the second hand cars, as they were ordered in bulk from Japan or the UK.

“We have prioritised stock allocation. So instead of waiting nine months to a year, you can get your car in a much shorter time frame,” he said.

“Our number one priority is having mass uptake to try and shift the dial on the whole normalisation of electric vehicles. And we need we need to drive the acceleration of decarbonisation. We need to drive down emissions.”

According to Randwick Council, all used cars will come with a guarantee, including a battery degradation warranty, battery check at purchase and one-week return policy.

The 2022 Nissan Leaf has been one of the most popular models so far under the scheme

With 80 per cent of EV charging happening in home garages and driveways, Randwick Council said it would offer a rebate of between $500 and $5000 depending on whether the station is installed in an individual home or shared apartment building.

It also planned to install eight new charging stations across the LGA in the next 12 months, which would bring the total to 18.

Randwick mayor Dylan Parker said he was proud to be the first council in Australia to pilot such a project.

“I think we’re on the cusp of something really exciting,” he said.

The EV bulk buy initiative will launch at the Eco Living Festival on September 18, a one-day event where interested residents can take part in information sessions and test drives with no obligation to buy.

Vehicles ordered by November were expected to arrive around April 2023.

Interested participants can register for the bulk buy scheme here.