<
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2026/apr/15/australia-fossil-fuels-politics-electric-vehicle-savings-clean-energy>
"It is tempting to think about what could have been. In 2020, a time many
people would prefer to forget, there was a significant push to set an end date
for the sale of new petrol and diesel cars.
The UK had announced a ban from 2030. India – the world’s most populous country
and which, like Australia and the UK, uses right-hand-side drive cars – had a
target to do the same. In Norway, about 60% of new cars were already electric.
Australia was in a different place. Scott Morrison had launched a fact-free
attack on Labor the previous year for proposing a non-binding 50% target for
new cars being electric by 2030, claiming it would “end the weekend”. The
Coalition disregarded advice that a scheme to cut car emissions could have a
$14bn net benefit to the country by 2040 and later dropped a commitment to
release an EV-specific strategy.
More than five years on, the country is counting the cost. The Albanese
government has introduced a vehicle-efficiency standard that requires a
year-on-year cut in the average pollution released by new cars. It’s a step
that has been recommended for nearly two decades, but the change it drives will
be gradual.
There has been fanfare about the record number of Australians who went electric
in March. Some perspective is needed here: EVs were still less than 15% of new
cars sold, barely up from 13% in 2025. Even as fuel costs soar due to the Iran
war, most cars being driven away from car lots have polluting internal
combustion engines. And they could be on the road for the next 15 to 20 years.
A more interesting change has been the rise in secondhand EVs. Sales more than
doubled last month, albeit from a tiny base, and the resale price improved
significantly. A thriving secondhand market with prices that are affordable for
more buyers and high enough to encourage owners to think they are getting value
will be vital for EVs to become more widely available.
But Australia remains well behind other countries in embracing clean cars.
Globally, about 25% of new sales last year were electric. The number of EV
models available in Australia is expanding, but the average price gap between
petrol and electric models – roughly 20% depending on car size – is still a
deterrent.
The good news is that the gap is now closing reasonably rapidly. And the
savings for those who drive an EV are potentially huge."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
