The Queensland Government will provide a $3000 subsidy for anyone buying an EV to the value of $58,000 from July 1.
“We’re also committing $10 million to build even more public charging stations, with new stations jointly-funded with the local government and private sector,” says state premier Annastacia Palaszczuk.
“This will help the many Queenslanders currently waiting for electric vehicles to become more accessible and affordable so they can make the switch.”
The announcement is a key part of Queensland’s Zero Emission Vehicle Strategy – with the goal to reduce emissions and climate change impacts.
Subsidies will apply to six models available in Queensland, targeting about 15,000 new EVs. The purchase price cap means the subsidy is expected to be available for Hyundai’s Ioniq and Kona models, the Nissan Leaf, MG’s ZS Essence and BYD’s new Atto models.
Motor Trades Association of Queensland chief executive Rod Camm says: “The government should be applauded for this initiative to bring Queensland in line with other states. It is obviously very important to get the price down on EVs to make them more affordable for consumers, and there’s no point even considering a road user tax until you’ve got a lot of EVs on the road.”
Its $55 million EV funding package has been welcomed by clean transport advocacy group Solar Citizens.
“With fuel prices and the cost of living going through the roof, more and more people want to switch to cars you can fuel up at home for a fraction of the cost,” says Solar Citizens strategist Stephanie Gray.
“Government support for the rollout of electric vehicles is vital for Australian families to have a long-term solution to battle volatile petrol prices.
“Electric vehicles are cheaper to run and maintain than petrol cars and they slash emissions, but the price tag is still a major barrier for many people.”
A survey of 807 Queenslanders commissioned by Solar Citizens in December 2021 found that purchase price was the biggest barrier to switching to an EV.
“The $3000 rebate is a practical step to reduce the cost of electric vehicles and puts Queensland on the same page as states like New South Wales and South Australia that are encouraging the uptake of cleaner cars,” says Gray.
“But more government support is needed to build a thriving local electric vehicle industry and provide commuters with a reprieve from high fuel prices.
“We’ve seen a number of states make commitments to boost the uptake of electric transport while the Morrison Government has been asleep at the wheel on this issue.”
The Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries chief executive Tony Weber says the grants will be a welcome support to potential EV buyers.
“The FCAI believes the Government’s continued focus on developing EV recharging infrastructure and fleets is vital in supporting the penetration of EV’s into the Queensland market.”
However, Weber is perplexed the sales target of 50% of new passenger vehicles sales to be zero-emission by 2030, and 100% of new passenger vehicle sales to be zero-emission by 2036.
“The primary policy objective is to reduce CO2 emissions and our pathway to this objective in the transport sector needs to be a holistic one. Electric vehicles alone will not achieve this in Australia,” he says.
“The pathway to reducing emissions through to the mid-2030s will rely on a range of low emission technologies that include plug-in hybrid, hybrid and even highly efficient internal combustion engines in addition to pure EVs.”
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