FCAI’s submission to the Australian Government’s Electric Vehicle Strategy calls for the focus to be on the availability and affordability of low emission vehicles for Australian drivers.
Chief Executive Tony Weber said an ambitious and achievable fuel efficiency standard, technology mix, infrastructure investment and behaviour change initiatives are needed to reduce emissions, create a cleaner fleet, and ensure a sustainable automotive industry.
“With limited worldwide supply of battery electric vehicles set to be an issue for the foreseeable future, the discussion needs to be guided by evidence not emotion, research not rhetoric and proof not predictions.
“Strong, practical, and challenging policy settings that acknowledge the unique nature of our market and customer preferences can support Australia’s mission to decarbonize the light vehicle fleet.
“However, the FCAI will not support any policy that puts fuel efficient vehicles using a range of technologies out of reach of every-day Australians, particularly those living on the outskirts of our capital cities and rural and regional areas,” he said.
“A sign of success will be when there are as many EVs in Cranbourne as there are in Cottesloe and as many in Blacktown as there are in Brighton.
Mr Weber said the FCAI’s submission was developed in collaboration with its members and is an important and accurate reflection of industry sentiments.
“Despite some media commentary to the contrary, independent international research indicates there is no capacity to completely replace the current market with battery electric vehicles in the near future – especially the great Aussie icon, the mid-sized Ute,” he added.