The Australian Business Review
Australia has about 3000 EV charging stations, compared with more than 70,000 in California and more than 100,000 across the US, according to the Electric Vehicle Council.
The selection of cars on offer in Australia will shrink to older, less environmentally friendly models unless electric vehicle charging infrastructure and tax incentives improve, General Motors’ electric vehicle tsar has warned.
Travis Hester, one of the few senior Australians at the largest US carmaker, said incentives were crucial for widespread take-up of electric vehicles, widely seen as critical to reducing carbon dioxide emissions.
Australia has about 3000 charging stations, compared with more than 70,000 in California and more than 100,000 across the US, according to the Electric Vehicle Council.
“Australia is no longer a manufacturer, as you know, so as other companies and ourselves at GM continue the transition, gasoline vehicles won’t be available,” Mr Hester said.
Queensland this month announced a $3000 tax credit on an electric vehicle purchase, matching similar policies in NSW and Victoria, but the federal government has ruled out financial support.
Ford and General Motors, which closed their Australian manufacturing operations in the 2010s, claiming excessive costs, plan to sell mainly electric vehicles by the 2030s and, in GM’s case, stop selling petrol-powered vehicles by 2035.
“At some point Australia, which benefits from brilliant choice because everyone pretty much sells down there, that choice will reduce if the infrastructure isn’t led into a better position,” Mr Hester said.
Australian sales of electric vehicles were about 2 per cent in 2021, compared with almost 5 per cent for the US, more than 10 per cent in China and 80 per cent in Norway.
The merit of providing greater incentives for electric vehicle purchase, a Labor policy at the 2019 federal election, is likely to prompt debate in the lead-up to the federal election in May.
The federal government last year announced a $178m fund to incentivise the rollout of charging stations.
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