Victoria

A new car-sharing service for the owners of Melbourne apartments is aiming to drive electric vehicle adoption in Australia. Residents in Melbourne's EQ Tower will be able to borrow a pair of Hyundai Kona Electrics hourly, or for an entire day. Although pricing hasn't been finalised, the starting rate will be $15 per hour, with no extra charge for distance covered.

Mazda's very orange MX-5 30th Anniversary Edition has sold out in Australia, with the majority headed for Victoria. A third of Australia's 30-unit allocation is headed to Victoria, while nine will make their way to New South Wales, four to Queensland, three to the ACT, two to South Australia and one to Tasmania. Mazda offered the car to "loyal MX-5 customers on a first come, first served basis" – reaching out to owners with an electronic campaign.

The car industry has slammed a proposal by the Victorian Government to slug vehicles priced over $100,000 with an additional tax – on top of the 10 per cent GST on the total cost and 33 per cent Luxury Car Tax already charged on every dollar above $66,331. UPDATE, 27/5/19: The Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries (FCAI) has made a statement regarding the proposed changes to taxes on new vehicles in Victoria. See bottom of article for details.

Infrastructure Victoria has revealed its advice on what's needed to support the rollout of highly-automated and zero-emissions vehicles, arguing autonomy could improve the efficiency of our roads by 91 per cent. According to the report, the rollout of self-driving cars could support $15 billion in economic growth by 2046, while the transition to zero-emissions motoring could deliver $706 million in health benefits by the same time, reducing greenhouse emissions by around 27 million tonnes.

La Trobe University has called for more consideration of autonomous vehicles in future infrastructure planning decisions, having concluded a 12-month self-driving bus trial on campus. More than 500 students and staff rode the 'Autonobus' during its year on the La Trobe Bundoora campus, before providing feedback about the experience.