Chris Bowen to press start button on major electric vehicle push

Energy Minister Chris Bowen says it is the right time for a national discussion on the introduction of vehicle fuel efficiency standards to lift the supply of electric cars.

Energy Minister Chris Bowen. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Gary Ramage

Energy Minister Chris Bowen has declared it is the right time for a national discussion on the introduction of vehicle fuel efficiency standards to lift the supply of electric cars and help drive down Australia’s emissions.

Mr Bowen made the comments in an address to the National Electric Vehicle Summit in Canberra on Friday, where he announced the release of a discussion paper for an EV strategy.

The paper, to be unveiled in coming weeks, will be subject to a widespread consultation process with feedback sought from industry, unions and consumer bodies.

“We believe now is the time to have a sensible discussion about whether fuel efficiency standards could help improve the supply of electric vehicles into our market to address the cost of living impacts of inefficient cars and reduce emissions from the transport sector,” Mr Bowen said.

“Apart from Russia, Australia is the only OECD country not to have or be in the process of developing fuel efficiency standards.

“We know the problems. Lack of charging infrastructure, range anxiety, high costs, long waiting times, lack of availability. While these are big challenges, there are solutions to each of them - solutions are different, but they ultimately kilometre back to one thing: policy leadership. Leadership the Albanese Government will be providing. And just as we have in the broader climate debate we’ll endeavour to provide that leadership in a way that brings Australians together.”

The new strategy is aimed at lifting the uptake of EVs and improving affordability for motorists. The strategy will include options for the introduction of fuel efficiency standards.

“We believe that now is the time to have an orderly and sensible discussion about whether vehicle fuel efficiency standards could help improve the supply of electric vehicles into the Australian market, to address the cost-of-living impacts of inefficient cars and to reduce emissions from the transport sector,” Mr Bowen said.

He said passenger made up nearly 10 per cent of Australia’s emissions and Australians needed new options which allowed them to “never lift the nozzle on a petrol pump again”.

He also framed the shift to electric vehicles as a potential cost-of-living relief measure.

“In 2019, the Australian Electric Vehicle Association estimated there would be average annual savings of $500 in fuel and $100 in maintenance costs for every electric car in the national fleet,” he said. “And UBS estimates point to projected consumer savings of $1700 per annum by 2030 on the total cost of ownership of an electric vehicle versus internal combustion engine vehicles.”

Australia’s uptake of new electric vehicles runs at about 2 per cent, which Labor warns is nearly five times lower than the global average.

Cost remains a major deterrent for consumers interested in purchasing EVs. Australians can choose from eight different low-emissions vehicles on the domestic market that are available for less than $60,000 compared to 26 in the UK.

Mr Bowen has written to the states and territories to invite them to participate in the development of the new strategy.

A briefing paper prepared by the Electric ­Vehicle Council for the summit on Friday recommends the government embrace fuel-efficiency standards in line with those in the US and the EU.

The EVC argues that, if there was an “absence of national leadership on introducing fuel-efficiency targets”, state and territory governments should consider a mandatory electric vehicle scheme requiring all new car sales to be zero-emissions by 2035.

The ACT government recently became the first jurisdiction in the country to ban the sale of new ­petrol cars from 2035.