New national body to encourage electric vehicle uptake

A national body that aims to drive the uptake of electric vehicles in Australia was officially launched by ClimateWorks in Canberra yesterday.

The launch was attended by Behyad Jafari, chair of the Electric Vehicle Council — an industry-led organisation representing and coordinating the broader electric vehicle industry in Australia. Jafari said the market for electric vehicles includes significant opportunities to deliver economic investment, innovation and environmental sustainability, yet Australia continues to miss out.

“Addressing the barriers preventing the mass uptake of electric vehicles in Australia requires a consistent and collaborative effort across a range of sectors,” he said.

“In addition to introducing vehicle emission standards, key policy measures include incentivising electric vehicle purchase in the short term as the technology works to meet price parity through upfront incentives and taxation measures, as well as establishing a recommended roadmap for national public charging infrastructure.”

The launch was also attended by Minister for Energy and Environment Josh Frydenberg, who announced a $390,000 grant from the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) to support the uptake of electric vehicles in Australia. According to Frydenberg, increasing the uptake of electric and lower emissions vehicles is an important part of the Turnbull government’s broader strategy to reduce emissions.

“Passenger vehicles account for around 10% of Australia’s greenhouse gas emissions, which means if we can reduce emissions in this area, it can help us meet our targets under the Paris Agreement,” Frydenberg said.

Scott Ferraro, head of implementation for ClimateWorks Australia, said the ARENA funding will support a broader effort to educate and engage Australians about electric vehicles.

“This funding will enable us to work with the Electric Vehicle Council to provide more information about electric vehicles to Australian consumers and undertake research on the best policies to drive greater uptake of electric vehicles, particularly at the early stages, in order to increase model choice and infrastructure,” he said.

“The council will also publish a ‘state of electric vehicles’ report annually so we can monitor progress on the transition of the Australian fleet.”