Sunshine State Accelerates the Drive to Electric!
Queenslanders are being surveyed about what incentives they need to move to an electric vehicle. When I bought my Tesla Model 3 three years ago (with no government incentives), my major reason was to help reduce the impacts of climate change. Since driving an EV, I have discovered that it is a lot of fun and I’m saving a ton of money — enough in fact to pay for the car during its expected lifetime.
As politicians frame the 2023–2024 state budget, they want to know what sweeteners need to be in the pot to accelerate the drive to electric. The goal is 50% of all new passenger vehicle sales being zero emission by 2032, and all new fleet car purchases being electric by the end of 2026. I’m excited — that is only 4 years away!
By July of this year, Queensland had over 10,000 electric vehicles on the road. This is a significant growth from 5 years ago when there were 525 EVs driving in the state. Queensland already offers a $3000 rebate for cars under $58,000. Although Teslas have been priced out of the rebate, more affordable models like the Nissan LEAF, the MG ZS EV, the Hyundai Ioniq, the Hyundai Kona, the new BYD Atto 3 model, and the Renault Kangoo still qualify.
On the horizon are the ORA Cat, the Cupra Born, and the Volkswagen ID,4, which are in the country and being tested for suitability in the Australian environment. BYD is considering bringing the Seal and the Dolphin to Australia next year.
“The average Queenslander drives 13,400 kilometres annually and spends approximately $1,900 on fuel annually (at $1.90/L),” a spokesman said. “A zero-emission vehicle travelling the same distance would cost around $502 annually in electricity costs, or charging could be free if the vehicle is home charging through solar panels.”
The survey includes conventional non-plugin hybrid vehicles (HEVs) and plugin hybrid vehicles (PHEVs), but HEVs don’t qualify for a rebate. Later in the survey, the definition of an EV is clarified to mean only a BEV. Hopefully this does not cause any confusion to those taking the survey. I expect that the survey will reveal the great need that exists for more action to combat FUD. Clear and accurate information accelerates the drive to electric!
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