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Electric vehicles: Federal ‘plan about a plan’ slammed by EV Council

The Federal Government's commitment to develop a national EV strategy has failed to excite the EV Council, which is calling for action.


Prime Minister Scott Morrison today unveiled a $2 billion pre-election climate change policy, but electric vehicle advocates are calling for more to be done in support of the burgeoning EV market.

There's minimal mention of electric vehicles in the policy, which simply commits to developing a 'National Electric Vehicle Strategy' without any concrete promise what it might look like and when it might be done.

Behyad Jafari, CEO of the Electric Vehicle Council, today used a statement to take a swipe at the lack of action.

"On the eve of a federal election, we hear the government committing to nothing more than the creation of a plan about a plan," Jafari said.

"It's underwhelming to say the least."

"Australia's action on electric vehicles needs far more urgency, because our flat-footedness to date has seen us slip several steps behind the world. As things stand we are becoming a dumping ground for the world's dirtiest vehicles; vehicles that can't be sold anywhere else," he added.

The inquiry, led by South Australian Senator Tim Storer, called for national EV targets on metro buses, light commercial vehicles and light cars as a way to demonstrate a firm commitment to driving electric uptake in Australia.

"The Committee is hopeful that the initial targets will provide the momentum required to increase EV sales to a point such that targets will no longer be required. Targets will also bolster the business case for expanding domestic EV manufacturing and supply chain activities," the inquiry found.

The report's Executive Summary said "EV uptake in Australia lags behind that of other comparable countries due to a relative absence of overarching policy direction" from the Federal and State Governments.

In spite of those findings, all of which echo the sentiment of which has repeatedly been echoed by Behyad Jafari, the current Federal policy on electric vehicles includes no targets at the moment.

There are also no subsidies in place for electric buyers, despite the success of government support for EV buyers in places like Norway. As Jafari put it, the "international precedent exists and we need to be getting on with it now".

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