Australia’s auto industry could be recharged under a renewed drive to make electric vehicles more affordable.
Drivers looking to get into their first EV would receive a rebate of up to $15,000 and finance of up to $50,000 under the bold plan from the Greens.
South Australia would be in the box seat to benefit from the $6.1bn proposal if the party secures the balance of power at the election.
“In a few years’ time, the whole country could be driving SA-made electric cars,” leader Adam Bandt said ahead of the Greens’ campaign launch in Adelaide.
“We’ll cut pollution, create jobs and be energy independent if we restart SA’s car industry and make it electric.
“The war in Ukraine shows us just how exposed we are if we rely on another country’s oil to get around.”
A publicly owned fast-charging network – at a cost of $2bn over the next two years – would be built to ensure drivers could get to 80 per cent charge within 15-30 minutes.
EVs accounted for just 1.6 per cent of all new vehicles sold in Australia in 2021.
The most xjmtzywpopular model – the Tesla Model 3 – comes with a $60,000 price tag.
Passenger cars make up almost 10 per cent of Australia’s greenhouse gas emissions.
The Greens say tough new pollution standards to drive down emissions and the end of the sale of new petrol and diesel cars from 2030 is required to push down EV prices.
The campaign launch now means each of the major parties will head to the election with an EV policy – a far cry from when Scott Morrison insisted they could “end the weekend” ahead of the 2019 poll.
Mr Morrison last year committed to spending $250m on charging infrastructure in businesses, households and public settings to encourage the uptake of EVs.
Meanwhile, Labor’s pitch to voters is to introduce an electric car discount, which would exempt EVs from the 5 per cent import tariff and 47 per cent fringe benefit tax when provided by workplaces.
It would be available to all EVs below the luxury tax threshold for fuel-efficient vehicles.
