Behyad Jafari
A 5% sales target for all new electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles is sought by the Electric Vehicle Council (EVC) and Environment Victoria.
It’s among policies the two organisations want delivered in the next five years.
Others are to cut stamp duty and provide a five-year registration holiday for all electric cars, offer rebates for building public charging stations, setting an “ambitious” emissions target for Victoria’s government vehicle fleet and allowing EVs to use high occupancy lanes.
Their drive follows Infrastructure Victoria’s release of a report on future mobility on October 18.
Both organisations ask all parties to provide a long-term plan to support the rollout of EVs ahead of the Victorian state election on November 24.
“With the right investment and strong government ambition, Victoria can become a leader in deploying electric cars,” Environment Victoria public policy and advocacy manager Dean Rizzetti says.
He says it’s vital continue investing in large scale renewable energy to keep costs down with EVs drawing power from the grid, and to reduce carbon.
Electric Vehicle Council of Australia chief executive officer Behyad Jafari says the report is the latest “in a long line of evidence that shows Australians stand to benefit from the transition to electric vehicles”.
“What we need now is clear leadership from our governments to accelerate the deployment of electric vehicles and charging stations,” he says.
“Today Australia lags the world in supporting the change to electric vehicles, but with the right policies and regulations that can change fast. We need to see leadership from all parties who intend to run the state, by getting behind zero emissions transport and the clean electricity we need to run it.”
Jafari says it’s also an opportunity to reinvigorate Australia’s automotive industry.
Meanwhile, the EVC has welcomed the announcement of a national ultra-fast electric vehicle charging network as the latest sign of a burgeoning Australian EV industry.
The network includes 21 charging stations, built by network operator Chargefox and supported by Australian motoring clubs and a grant by the federal government.
The EVC has called on the federal government to set a national target for EV adoption, supported by a nationally co-ordinated range of policies and regulations to transition the road fleet from fossil fuels to electric.
