Petrol price surge drives Victoria’s electric vehicle boom – The Age
While she was attracted to the car’s environmental credentials, its economic case sealed the deal.
Ms Dharmapala took out a $44,000 loan to buy the $65,000 Tesla and has to repay $800 a month. She estimates that in a few years, the vehicle will start paying for itself as she’ll no longer have to fork out money for petrol or regular servicing.
She charges her car at a community charging station near her gym or from a regular electrical socket in her garage, which is powered by rooftop solar panels. One charge can last up to two weeks.
Electric Vehicle Council chief executive officer Behyad Jafari said Australia’s supply of electric vehicles was unable to keep up with demand.
“There used to be five customers for every electric vehicle that we bring into Australia,” Mr Jafari said. “Now it might be nine or 10.”
He said the supply shortage would not be addressed without the federal government introducing fuel-efficiency standards, which would incentivise companies to export electric vehicles to Australia.
Australia is one of the last OECD countries without a fuel-efficiency standard, which has led to overseas manufacturers offloading their least efficient vehicles here. In many parts of the world, car companies face penalties if they don’t sell enough electric vehicles.
Adam Paterson, the managing director of Nissan Australia, said online searches and customer enquiries for the electric Nissan LEAF had recently skyrocketed. Figures for the first half of March surpassed the average monthly results for the past six months.
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The situation is similar at carsales.com, where searches for electric vehicles have surged over the past fortnight, peaking at a record of almost one in five searches on March 13.
“There is strong correlation to increasing petrol prices,” said Mike Sinclair, director of content at the online car marketplace.
Roads Minister Ben Carroll said zero-emissions vehicles would play a key role in the state’s plan to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050.
The state government is providing a $3000 subsidy for new zero-emissions vehicles, and more than 4000 subsidies have been handed out. It has also unveiled a $19 million program to boost charging infrastructure on major highways and at tourist attractions.
Data from the state government shows that motorists in Point Cook have been the biggest beneficiaries of the state government subsidy, with 109 households claiming the rebate. They were followed by Glen Waverley, 59, Mount Waverley, 58 and Tarneit, 53.
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