Despite the efforts of manufacturers, government, and marketing agencies, the uptake of electric vehicles (EVs) are still glacially slow. In NSW, the state government is looking to upgrade its 12,000 strong vehicle fleet to at least half all-electric vehicles by 2026.
Even so, in 2021 only 1.6% of all vehicle registrations on Australian roads were EVs compared to a global average of 4.6%.
There are some misconceptions around EVs – such as the (very real) range anxiety and a lack of public charging infrastructure. Of course, the high sticker price of EVs compared to equivalent Internal Combustion Engine (ICE) vehicles are also a deterrent, though many new EVs are coming down in price as technology advances. But are the current barriers insurmountable – or are they on the edge of coming down entirely?
The Incentive and Finance Barrier
Many States and Territories provide reduced registration fees, new purchase subsidies, refunds, or stamp duty to residents who choose electric vehicles.
As of 2022, South Australia, New South Wales, Victoria, and Queensland all provide $3,000 purchase incentives. If you reside in the ACT, you may get roughly $5,840 in rebates and subsidies if you decide to drive an electric vehicle.
If you decide to install solar power – which the government also subsidises – it can also make owning an electric vehicle much cheaper than driving an ICE.
The Price Barrier
There are many incentives to taking up EVs, such as reduced cost car loans for electric vehicles. Already, one can avail themselves of a car loan with lower than average interest rates just for choosing an electric vehicle.
Some EVs continue to retail for more than comparable Internal Combustion Engine (ICE) vehicles.
The Nissan Leaf, a moderately sized sedan or hatch, now costs almost as much as its ICE counterpart at $49,990 plus on-road costs. The MG ZS EV has 320km of range and costs $44,990 plus on-road costs. Even the Tesla Model 3 with its spaceship good looks and whiz-bang bells and whistles is a competitive $59,900 plus on-roads, which gives drivers luxury insides on the par of more upmarket European marques for a lot less than you’d think. Of course, kilometre for kilometre, electric vehicles are cheaper to run and maintain in comparison to ICE vehicles.
The Range Barrier
Prospective buyers of EVs have legitimate concerns about running out of power in the middle of a trip between top-up locations.
There are only 293 fast charging stations and 1,580 ordinary charging stations as of January 2022. Australia is a nation that’s 7.7 million square kilometres in size.
The super popular Hyundai Ioniq 5 – so sought after its recent allocation of 200 sold out in mere minutes – has an exceptional range of 451km. This means it can do the Sydney-Melbourne run with only one charge in between and about 50km of range left over.
In fact, according to the Electric Vehicle Council, the average suburban driver will only need to top up their vehicle from flat every ten days – which beats some petrol driven vehicles in terms of refuelling.
As battery technology improves, so will range – though the charging barrier also needs overcoming.
The Charging Barrier
You receive one kilometre of range for every 10 minutes of charging per kWh. That translates to 50 kilometres of range in 10 minutes for a 50kW charging station. Though they are uncommon, anything beyond 50kW is regarded as “rapid charging.” The Sydney-Melbourne travel in eight hours may be doable in the near future when 350kW+ charging outlets are made accessible.
The Federal Government will build charging stations every 150 km on Australia’s major thoroughfares over the course of the next five years, which should help with range anxiety.
As for public buildings, “2022 version of the National Construction Code will aim to include provisions ensuring all buildings are geared to accommodate the future installation of on-site electric vehicle chargers” although many government buildings are leased – with owned buildings being around 50 years old on average. Businesses can already upgrade their existing premises with EV charging points, if they wish.
Retrofitting existing apartment blocks or residential dwellings – preferably with 32A instead of 20A current limits – means people who wish to own EVs have a ready and waiting solution for when they choose to switch to electric.
Will EV take up grow when more barriers are dismantled? One can only hope that it does.
