The environmental and economic benefits of electric vehicles (EVs) are quickly becoming apparent to many people and Governments around the world. Such benefits include cleaner air in our towns and cities and reduced greenhouse gas emissions. Zero greenhouse gas emissions from driving EVs is achievable if the EV is charged via electricity from renewable sources such as solar or wind energy. This is an important point, the environmental benefits of driving an EV are reduced if the electricity used to charge the EV comes from a dirty coal fired power station.
However, even if some or all the electricity used to charge an EV is sourced from burning coal, it is still a better environmental outcome than using petrol or diesel and will result in “zero exhaust emissions”. This is a good thing if you live in a town or and city with air quality problems as millions of people do. The cost of the electricity used to charge an EV is typically at least one third cheaper per kilometre than purchasing petrol. The exact cost saving figure is variable and dependent upon petrol and electricity price cycles. EVs don’t contain many of the moving parts that a conventional vehicle does, such as fuel injection systems, starter motors, radiators and exhaust systems etc.. As a result, the servicing costs are generally lower than a conventional vehicle. EVs also offer the convenience of home or work-based charging options and can also reduce a nations dependency on foreign oil imports.
As of January 31st 2018, there was still an internal combustion engine under the bonnet of 98.1% of all vehicles registered in Australia. According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), the percentage fuel type split is as follows:
| Petrol Engine | Diesel Engine | Other |
|---|---|---|
| 74.7% | 23.4% | 1.9% |
We contacted the ABS regarding what the breakdown of “Other” represents although they were unable to provide the requested information. We suspect that the “Other” category represents a dominant mix of LPG and hybrid electric vehicles with only a very small percentage of the “Other” category representing battery electric vehicles (BEVs), probably less than 0.5%.
The Australian Government’s National Inventory Report on greenhouse gas emissions for the year 2016 was submitted to the United Nations in April 2018. The report outlines that Australia emitted an estimated 525 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalents (CO2-e), a heat trapping greenhouse gas in our atmosphere in the year 2016. Around 18% (or 97.5 million tonnes of CO2-e) were contributed by the transport sector. Passenger cars accounted for 44.3 million tonnes of CO2-e, trucks and buses accounted for 22.7 million tonnes of CO2-e. Other sources in the transport sector included domestic aviation, domestic shipping and pipeline transport.
Figure 1 – Total transport emissions in Australia, 1990-2016 (preliminary estimates 2017)
The overall preliminary estimate of greenhouse gas emissions from the Australian transport sector for 2017 is 98,323 tonnes of CO2-e, a projected annual increase of around 0.8% and the trend has been steadily rising since 1990. It is therefore very clear from the raw data that the ways in which we choose to get around are significantly contributing to the volume of heat trapping greenhouse gasses that are being emitted to our atmosphere.
Many countries around the world are taking steps to reduce greenhouse gas emissions generated by their transport sectors as is demonstrated in the table below. Incentives for increasing the uptake of EVs vary by EV type, upfront cost, country and region etc.. We haven’t listed every every single initiative from every Country or State that is doing something although we have selected key polices from a select group of Countries. Where financial incentives are available in a given Country, the Australian dollar (AUD) equivalent based on recent foreign exchange rates from October 2018 has been provided.
| Country/EV Incentive | Country/EV Incentive | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| USA | China | ||||
 | $US | $AUD Equivalent |  | ¥CNY | $AUD Equivalent |
| Maximum Purchase Grant on an EV | $7500 | $10,585 | Maximum Purchase Grant on an EV | ¥50,000 | $10,250 |
| Maximum Purchase Grant on an EV | $7500 | $10,585 | Maximum Purchase Grant on an EV | ¥50,000 | $10,250 |
| Notes: The above is a US Federal Government incentive; many US States also offer a wide range of other incentives | Notes: This above is a Chinese Government incentive; many Chinese Provinces also offer a wide range of other incentives | ||||
| Norway | Ireland | ||||
 | NOR kr | $AUD Equivalent |  | Euro € | $AUD Equivalent |
| Annual Road Tax on EVs | 0 kr | $0 | Maximum Private EV Purchase Grant | €5,000 | $8,100 |
| Tax on all Non-Recurring Vehicle Fees | 0 kr | $0 | Maximum Commercial EV Purchase Grant | €3800 | $6156 |
| Public Parking Charges | 0 kr | $0 | Maximum Motor Tax Cost on an EV | €120 | $194 |
| Toll Road Charges | 0 kr | $0 | Vehicle Registration Tax Relief for EVs | Yes (Variable) | Yes (Variable) |
| Bus Lane Access | Yes | N/A | Maximum Grant for Installing a Home Battery Charger | €600 | $972 |
| New Zealand | United Kingdom | ||||
 | NZD $ | $AUD Equivalent |  | GBP £ | $AUD Equivalent |
| Annual Road User Charge (RUC) Exemption on EVs | $600 | $532 | Maximum EV Purchase Grant | £4,500 | $8,235 |
| RUC Exemption for Heavy EVs | TBA | TBA | Maximum Electric Van Purchase Grant | £8,000 | $14,640 |
| ACC Levy Reduction for PHEVs | $68 | $63 | Ownership Tax on EVs < £40,000 | £0 | $0 |
| Maximum Grant for Installing a Home Battery Charger | £500 | $915 | |||
| India | Japan | ||||
 | INR ₹ | $AUD Equivalent |  | JP¥ | $AUD Equivalent |
| Tata – Tigor EV Range | ₹124,000 | $2,356 | Maximum EV Purchase Grant | ¥850,000 | $10,200 |
| Toyota Camry Hybrid | ₹70,000 | $2,356 | |||
| Three-wheelers | ₹3,300 – ₹61,000 | $63 – $1,159 | |||
| Scooters and motorcycles | ₹1800 – ₹29000 | $34 -$551 | |||
| Volvo E-Bus (8400 B5RLEH 4×2) | ₹6,100,000 | $115,900 | |||
Contrary to what many other nations around the world have been doing for some time, the Australian Federal Government currently offers no direct incentives for EV ownership. In a bizarre effort to make EVs even less appealing to the Australian public, there is a direct financial disincentive to purchase an EV via the imposition of a Federal “Luxury Car Tax” on businesses which sell or import luxury cars. Where the value of the car is above AUD$64,132, or AUD$75,526 for certain fuel-efficient cars then the so-called “Luxury Car Tax” must be paid. It would therefore appear that not only are no incentives for Australians to buy an EV, the Government is actively discouraging the uptake of EV ownership.
The individual Australian States and Territories are also currently doing almost nothing to promote the uptake of EVs. There are currently no electric vehicle incentives in New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, Western Australia, Tasmania or the Northern Territory. EVs registered in the Australian Capital Territory are exempt from stamp-duty. EVs registered in Victoria receive a tokenistic $100 reduction in registration fees each year.
The Australian Government’s own National Inventory Report on greenhouse gas emissions factually demonstrates that greenhouse gas emissions in the transport sector are continuing to rise. Australia has a committed to reducing its overall greenhouse gas emissions to 26-28 per cent on 2005 levels by 2030 in accordance with the 2015 Paris Climate Change Agreement. When faced with all these facts, it is extremely difficult to comprehend why a nation that has traditionally been viewed as leading and progressive in so many respects by other nations, is currently behaving in such a backward manner on climate polices such as EV incentives.
We strongly believe that there is an urgent need for change and that a push towards incentivising EV ownership in Australia is well overdue if we are not to fall even further behind the rest of the world on climate polices. If you agree, please feel free to share this blog to increase awareness and to help highlight this important issue.
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Blog References
- The Australian Government Submission to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, Australian National Greenhouse Accounts, National Inventory Report 2016, Volume 1, April 2018
- Australian Bureau of Statistics, 9309.0 – Motor Vehicle Census, Australia, 31 Jan 2018
- Page last updated: Tuesday 31 July 2018
- http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/mf/9309.0
- Australian Taxation Office (ATO), Luxury Car Tax Rate and Thresholds
- Page last updated: Tuesday 25 May 2018
- https://www.ato.gov.au/rates/luxury-car-tax-rate-and-thresholds/
- New Zealand Ministry of Transport, Climate Change and Energy, Electric Vehicles
- Page last updated: Tuesday 27 April 2018
- https://www.transport.govt.nz/multi-modal/climatechange/electric-vehicles/
- GOV.UK, Low-emission vehicles eligible for a plug-in grant
- GOV.UK, Grant Schemes for Electric Vehicle Charging Infrastructure
- Page last updated: 9 July 2018
- https://www.gov.uk/plug-in-car-van-grants
- Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland, Electric Vehicle Grants
- National Automotive Board of India, Department of Heavy Industry, FAME-INDIA https://www.fame-india.gov.in/ModelUnderFame.aspx
- The Guardian, What’s Put the Spark in Norway’s Electric Car Revolution?
- By Harvey Hones, 2 July 2018
- https://www.theguardian.com/money/2018/jul/02/norway-electric-cars-subsidies-fossil-fuel
- EVBox, What are the Incentives for Buying an Electric Car?
- Fleetcamera, Which Countries Have the Best Incentives for EV Purchases?
- By Rikki Gibson, 25 September,2017
- https://www.fleetcarma.com/countries-best-incentives-ev-purchases/
- AutoCar India, FAME II scheme for EV adoption in India to begin October 1
- By Soham Thakur, 24 August 2018
- https://www.autocarindia.com/industry/fame-ii-scheme-for-ev-adoption-in-india-to-begin-october-1-409477
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