Transport contributes to more than 60 per cent of the ACT’s greenhouse gas emissions. While zero emission vehicles such as electric cars offer a way to reduce emissions, Australia lags the world on take up of electric cars.

Less than one per cent of cars sold here are electric–compared to a global average of over four per cent. This is despite growing enthusiasm for electric vehicles (EVs) in Australia.

A number of Bean residents took part in a recent bulk buy conducted by The Good Car Co in partnership with See Change Canberra. Quality, low mileage EVs were imported from Japan on behalf of bulk buy participants. Many said they had wanted to go electric for a while, and this was the first time they could buy an EV that made sense with their family budget.

Electric cars remain unaffordable for most Australians. Labor is committed to making EVs more affordable by introducing an Electric Car Discount. The discount will see many EVs below the luxury car tax threshold for fuel efficient vehicles ($77,565 in 2020-21), exempt from import tariffs and Fringe Benefits Tax (FBT). The Electric Vehicle Council estimates that a $50,000 EV will be more than $2,000 cheaper as a result of removing the import tariff, and Labor’s FBT exemption could save employers up to $9,000 a year.

From this May, the ACT Government will waive the first two years of rego fees on newly purchased zero-emissions vehicles (new or second hand). This will further reduce the cost of transitioning to zero-emissions transport for many Canberrans.