EV prices will stay higher for longer, new research says
Motoring groups have urged the Albanese government to adopt a cautious approach to emissions reforms, after research was released indicating the cost of electric vehicles pitched at the mass market would still be up to 50 per cent more expensive than regular vehicles in 2030.
The controversial findings, released by the Transport Department on Friday, were presented to the government in May as part of consultations on the potential introduction of rules aimed at boosting supply of EVs from foreign carmakers by making internal combustion engine-driven vehicles more costly.
The battle over Australia’s coming fuel emissions standard is hotting up, with debate over when EVs will reach parity with ICEs. Bloomberg
Commissioned by the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries, which says it“fully supports” the introduction of an “ambitious but achievable, technology-agnostic” fuel emissions standard, the research challenges claims by EV advocates that price parity between EVs and comparable petrol-diesel vehicles will happen before 2030.
The issue of price parity has become a critical flash point among various groups seeking to influence the government’s design of a new standard, which would force car importers to keep the average emissions from their entire fleet of sales below a certain threshold.
By incentivising sales of EVs or hybrids, the regulation would encourage more brands to ship such vehicles to the Australian market.
However, groups such as the FCAI caution that without sufficient availability of affordable zero or low-emissions vehicles that meet the specific needs Australian households and their preference for SUVs and utes, the reforms run the risk of losing public support.
“In an environment where the cost of
Read more on afr.com
