He said a slew of new state policies aimed at accelerating the adoption of zero-emission vehicles, particularly NSW’s $ 500 million package, had “excited” the entire industry about the effect it would have on the availability and sales of electric vehicles.

“The movement in most states and territories is now generally positive and this gives greater confidence to private sector investors, which will pave the way for more places to recharge and better services to support electric mobility.” , did he declare.

Victoria has set a sales target of 50% new zero-emission vehicles by 2030, while NSW has announced an electric vehicle strategy to increase sales to 53% by 2030-2031. The two states and several others have also introduced financial rebates of up to $ 3,000 for the purchase of new electric vehicles, while some jurisdictions will waive stamp duties and registration fees.

The federal government has come under heavy criticism from automakers and advocacy groups for its refusal to set targets in the industry and the technology’s previous public ridicule. Last year he ruled out subsidizing new cars to spur widespread adoption.

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Government modeling found that subsidies for battery-electric vehicles were not profitable for taxpayers and were a form of costly reduction and is optimistic that the difference in total cost of ownership between electric vehicles and Internal combustion engine vehicles will shrink in the coming years.

Prices continue to drop, with Hyundai having introduced three models under $ 48,000 in the past year, and MG and Nissan offering three more models under $ 50,000.

The latest data reflects the global trend, with electric car sales increasing by around 140% in the first quarter compared to the same period in 2020, driven by sales in China of around 500,000 vehicles and in Europe of around 450,000. Sales in the United States more than doubled compared to the first quarter of 2020.

Despite the leap nationwide, accounting for 1.57% of the total light vehicle market, Australia lags significantly behind the rest of the world in electric vehicle adoption.

Greenhouse gas emissions in the transport sector account for almost 20% of Australia’s annual totals, with automotive carbon levels accounting for around half of that figure. The drastic reduction in emissions in the sector is considered essential if the country is to achieve a reduction of 26-28% from 2005 levels by 2030.

Mr Jafari said the country needs to see more models of electric vehicles available in the country, especially at lower prices.

“It is being done slowly, but if we are to speed up the process and attract the limited global supply of electric vehicles, we need nationally adopted policies, such as energy efficiency standards.. “

Federal Energy and Emissions Reduction Minister Angus Taylor said the government has committed more than $ 1.4 billion to help increase adoption of low-emission, zero-emission vehicle technologies .

“These growing sales of electric and hybrid vehicles show that Australians are already choosing to embrace future fuel technologies,” Taylor said.

“As the industry strives to make more models of electric vehicles available and more affordable, the Morrison government continues the important work of providing the necessary infrastructure to support Australians who wish to buy and operate an electric vehicle.”

Most of the world’s automakers, including Mazda, Nissan, General Motors and Ford in Europe, have now set deadlines to phase out gasoline and diesel cars and become 100% electric from 2030 to 2035.

The report predicts that by 2025 Audi will have 30 models of electric vehicles available in Australia, Hyundai will have 23 models, the Renault Group will have 24 models and GM will have 30 models. Volkswagen will have 70 new electric models available by 2028, he said.

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