The South Australian Government’s decision to waive vehicle registration and stamp duty on new electric vehicles for five years as an incentive to reduce transport emissions is the kind of initiative which should be adopted across Australia, according to the motor industry’s peak body.
The Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries (FCAI) fully supports the re-election promise offered up by the incumbent Government and challenged other governments to follow suit by offering fiscal incentives to consumers which would encourage the take-up of efficient new vehicle technologies.
The Chief Executive of the FCAI, Tony Weber, said that while electric vehicles (EVs) were only a part of Australia’s medium-term transport solutions, fiscal encouragement such as that offered by the SA Government can only help in the consumer cost/benefit assessment of their next new vehicle purchase to adopt emerging technologies.
“The industry’s view is that EVs, together with hybrids, hydrogen vehicles and the new generation of more efficient, low emission, combustion-engined cars, need to be part of the broad make-up of the national new vehicle fleet in the next decade,” Mr Weber said.
“While governments have a significant role to play in encouraging a shift in consumer behaviour, the industry believes in the need for freedom of consumer choice and in market diversity. We don’t intend to favour one vehicle technology over another because we know the huge amount of research being done around the world on future transport technologies.
“There’s some very interesting and highly efficient engine and transport technologies under development globally and it would be imprudent to back one technology when another may, in fact, offer a better solution for Australia’s market and our driving needs and lifestyles.”
Mr Weber also said that a focus of the industry in the immediate term was to work with the Federal government on delivering an emissions and CO2 standard which harmonised with the stricter controls of the EU, together with a new fuel standard and feasible timetable to effect that transition.