Australians have been warned they will soon be driving electric vehicles (EV) whether they like it or not. The vast land Down Under has one of the lowest EV uptake rates in the world and the national left-wing Labor government has had enough of buyer resistance.
To that end Canberra announced Wednesday it would introduce sweeping new standards targeting vehicle emissions to force EVs on the marketplace as it looks to catch up with other developed economies while tackling fossil fuel emissions.
A slim 3.8 percent of cars sold in Australia last year were electric, well behind other comparable markets in Britain and Europe, where electric cars made up 15 percent and 17 percent of sales, respectively, according to Reuters.
The new national electric vehicle strategy will dictate how much carbon dioxide a car will be allowed to produce when running, Energy Minister Chris Bowen said in a news conference.
The EV push comes even as some parts of the world rethink their EV strategy in the wake of global energy shortages.
“Fuel-efficient and electric vehicles are cleaner and cheaper to run – today’s announcement is a win-win for motorists,” Bowen said in a statement.
ABC news reports the scheme will force car makers to sell more fuel efficient vehicles and lower or zero emission cars like EVs.
The way the standard works is that car makers are required to keep under a certain carbon emissions ceiling relevant to the type and number of cars they sell.
And if manufacturers don’t meet the government requirements then they’ll face a penalty.
Details would be finalised in the coming months, the minister added.
File/An electric car gets charged in Sydney, Australia, Tuesday, Nov. 9, 2021. Australia announced plans to encourage people to buy electric vehicles weeks after the government was accused at a U.N. conference in Scotland of being a laggard in fighting climate change. (AP Photo/Mark Baker)
Other than high prices, “range anxiety” and access to charging stations are continually cited as major obstacles preventing Down Under drivers from buying EVs.
There are about 83,000 EVs on Australian roads and as at December 2022, there were just over 4,900 public chargers located at fewer than 2,400 sites across the massive island continent.
In 2021 Australia was ranked last for “climate action” out of nearly 200 countries.