Australia’s electric vehicle industry has seized on the Morrison government’s decision to funnel more taxpayer funds to the nation’s oil refineries and accused it of failing to design an adequate plan to drive uptake of electric cars.
After committing $2.4 billion last year to help ASX-listed refiners Ampol and Viva Energy survive the impact of COVID-19 wiping out demand, the government in March announced a $3 billion fuel-excise reduction to keep a lid on petrol prices, and, on Wednesday, pledged another $250 million for the companies to carry out upgrades to their plants in Brisbane and Geelong.
The electric car industry claims the Morrison government has failed to develop a ‘competent plan’ to drive EV uptake,Credit:AP
The Electric Vehicle Council, representing businesses across the electric vehicle (EV) sector including auto giants Tesla, Volvo, Mercedes-Benz and Hyundai, said Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s priorities “speak volumes” and the EV industry remained “ignored”.
“It’s incredible that an Australian government in 2022 could be spending $6 billion propping up oil, while not even bothering to construct a competent plan for the electrification of Australia’s fleet,” chief executive Behyad Jafari said.
Sales of battery and plug-in hybrid vehicles are increasing across Australia but still account for less than 2 per cent of new car sales, lagging uptake rates in many other parts of the world.
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While governments in NSW and Victoria have been setting subsidies to incentivise EV sales, large power companies and EV advocates have been calling for greater federal government funding to help accelerate the EV revolution, which they say would drive down transport sector emissions and increase Australia’s energy security.
“If the EV industry was allocated even a fraction of the money spent on oil subsidies we could be cleaning our city air, lowering our carbon emissions, and breaking our dependence on foreign oil,” Jafari said.
However, Morrison on Wednesday reiterated that the Coalition would not be offering taxpayer subsidies to increase private sales of EVs. The government’s “future fuels fund”, instead, is focused largely on funding the rollout of EV and hydrogen charging infrastructure and supporting the shift to low- and zero-emissions vehicles in commercial fleets.
