Hot damn we love electric cars here at EFTM, but bloody hell they are pricey. The price gap between a petrol car and its electric equivalent has long been our concern, along with the impact on our tax system should we all switch to Electric in a hurry. Today, the NSW government unveiled a radical five point plan which nails every issue on the EV product chain in one bold policy.
Just a month after Victorian parliament passed the much maligned road-usage tax legislation, the NSW Government is receiving widespread praise for its policy which also contains a road-usage tax.
However, unlike Victoria, NSW’s road-usage tax doesn’t kick in until 2027, and the incentives for new EV buyers are bigger and cover both fully electric and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles.
The five-point-plan covers:
- Helping drivers buy an electric vehicle
- Building a world-class electric vehicle charging network
- Making it easy to drive an electric vehicle
- Creating jobs and growing the economy
- Keeping road funding fair and sustainable
Here’s the basics of each component.
Helping drivers buy an electric vehicle in NSW
The NSW Government will waive Stamp Duty on Electric Vehicles under $78,000.
Currently, you pay $3 per $100 up to $45,000 and $5 per $100 over $45,000 when you buy a car.
On a $78,000 car that’s a $3,000 saving in Stamp Duty. A little over $1,500 saved on a Hyundai Ioniq electric car.
Additionally, the Government is offering a rebate of $3,000 on the purchase of 25,000 EVs to the first in best dressed. That rebate is available to people buying cars that retail for $68,750 or less, which includes the Tesla Model 3, Hyundai Ioniq, Hyundai Kona, MG ZS EV and the soon to be released BYD vehicles.
Building a world-class electric vehicle charging network
Additionally, the NSW Government is taking a “Tesla approach” by ensuring the state has a wide charging network.
$171,000,000 will be spent over the next four years to build widespread EV charging infastructure.
$131 million of which is for Ultra-Fast charging in areas with limited off-street parking as well as on our highway corridors, $20 million is for destination charging in commuter car parks of popular Transport for NSW sites, and $20 million is for destination charging at regional tourist locations.
Making it easy to drive an electric vehicle
EV owners will also get special access on the roads too. Driving a full EV? You can take the car-pool lane! The T2 and T3 lanes will be opened to EVs “for a limited time” to encourage uptake.
The NSW Government will also work with councils to make sure that designated EV charging or parking signage is fit for purpose.
Creating jobs and growing the economy
All of that is great because it gets people driving EVs, but it’s going to cost money. So on the flipside, it’s all being done to drive the economy too.
Regional tourism benefits from those destination chargers, and the highway infrastructure, while the Government will also look closely at all the Mineral deposits in our state to ensure that the Battery revolution benefits the state through mining royalties and taxes. Things like cobalt, nickel and other rare earth elements are all in demand, so let’s benefit from that.
Keeping road funding fair and sustainable
And the big elephant in the room of course, taxes. Without the petrol excise, governments will be millions of dollars short on funding for road maintenance and progress.
To combat this, there will be a road-usage tax, though it won’t kick in until 1 July 2027. It will kick in sooner if EV car sales jump past 30%, but that’s a stretch goal let’s be honest.
The Road-usage tax will apply to both EVs and Plug-in hybrids, though the EVs will pay a touch more than Plug-In Hybrids.
And the Government believes this package will strongly drive that uptake.
Response from the Car Industry to the NSW Government EV strategy
It’s a love-in with the car industry and Government. After months of shitcanning the Victorian Government, NSW is looking like the winner to the EV community.
Head of the Electric Vehicle Council Behyad Jafari says “World leaders from California to the United Kingdom have policies to turbo-charge the transition to electric vehicles and capture the abundant economic, health, and environmental benefits. Today New South Wales has stepped up to stand amongst them,”
“This package, frankly, represents how grown-ups do reform – consultative, balanced, and longsighted. Many Australian governments have announced EV ‘plans,’ sometimes even ‘plans to have a plan’, but New South Wales is the first state to step up and deliver real action.
His comment regarding “Grown Ups” was clearly aimed at the Victorian Policy which implements a road-user tax on all EVs effective immediately.
Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries Chief Executive Tony Weber says the NSW strategy makes it one of the most forward-thinking governments in the world, “The direction being set by the NSW Government has the capacity to kick start serious EV penetration into Australia,”
“As the future of mobility continues to rapidly transform, now is the time for Governments to relieve motorists of a myriad of outdated, confusing and inefficient charges and replace them with a simplified road user charging approach.
Nissan Australia’s Managing Director Stephen Lester says “It is extremely encouraging to see the NSW Government’s strong leadership in the EV space. These decisive actions are good for consumers, good for the market and ultimately good for the State’s own legislated net-zero targets. These types of policies not only accelerate the EV transition right now, but also put Australia in a stronger place for priority adoption of new vehicle technologies, sooner.
“Additionally, with the announced transition targets for its own fleet, the NSW market will see greater EV uptake because of Government purchases, but also will ultimately
benefit customers by providing a vibrant second-hand EV market in the years to come.
“The announcement of upcoming EV-related taxation reform provides consumers the right balance between EV adoption today, and surety about the future regulatory environment.”
And the race is now on. We’ve reported that BYD – the biggest EV car manufacturer in the world is coming to Australia. Their local CES Luke Todd says the NSW Government Initiative further lowers the cost of entry to the EV market for Australians, he told EFTM “Our high quality range of affordable electric car’s are set to launch in Australia in August this year, and with these new Government incentives, the price will be closer to $30,000 than we could ever have anticipated. Our BYD electric cars will now be more affordable than even we anticipated. This is great news.”
Which cars get which NSW Government Electric Vehicle incentives.
There are benefits to buying a Plug-in hybrid, while full EV owners get the full suite of benefits.
