– By Carolyn Taylor –
In 2001, the year the Toyota Prius hybrid was released in Australia, the highest selling vehicles were the Holden Commodore and Ford Falcon. Since then increasing fuel costs, as well as a push to be more environmentally aware, has resulted in a shift in popularity to smaller vehicles. In 2014 the Toyota Corolla and Mazda 3 were the top sellers and hitching a ride has been alternatively fuelled vehicles such as electric plug-ins.
Registrations of plug-in vehicles has increased 17 fold in just five years and currently stands 1,909* vehicles. While this is a big jump, it is coming from a very low base and is a mere drop in the ocean compared to uptake in other markets. The Society for Motor Manufacturers and Traders reports that 512 pure electric cars were sold in the UK in January 2015 alone.
Australian buyers have only a few pure electric vehicles to choose from with prices varying from around $40,000 up to $170,000. The Nissan Leaf and Mitsubishi i-MiEV are the main players in this market, with the BMW i3 and i8 arriving in 2014. And the sexier and more expensive Tesla is also available here.
With limited models and no government incentives for electric vehicles in Australia, it is no surprise that the market is lagging behind other countries.
Leo Kerr of My Electric Car believes that the Government’s lack of incentives is surprising given the obvious health and environmental benefits of these vehicles. Kerr advises that “the federal Australian government (unlike just about every other developed country in the world including economically challenged Greece) does NOT offer incentives to purchase an EV. All attempts by the EV manufacturers to get incentives for EVs have fallen on deaf ears”.
Other barriers to uptake centre around infrastructure. Electric cars must be charged using dedicated charging outlets that need to be installed at home or the work place.
Alternatively, they can be charged at public charging stations, and while these are increasing in number in Australia’s major cities and larger regional towns, there is a perception that availability is still too low.
Concerns about travel distance is also an issue. How far an electric car can travel before recharging depends on many factors, including battery size, driving style and conditions.
The average distance for the smaller vehicles is 100-175kms, with the Tesla’s range much higher at about 480kms. While the 100km range may not be a barrier for most private drivers, fleet operators may be reluctant to risk leaving their sales force stranded for hours at a recharging station.
It seems that plug-in vehicles are an attractive prospect to organisations that have environmental targets imposed on them. The City of Sydney Council purchased 10 Nissan Leaf’s in 2013 to add to its existing four Mitsubishi i-MiEV’s.
To support this the council installed seven recharging outlets in city parking stations. The RAC in WA also includes plug-ins in their fleet, as do a number of other metropolitan city councils. Interestingly, Google Australia credits some of its green status to its two Mitsubishi i-MiEV’s.
Most corporate fleets, however, are unlikely to give serious consideration to plug-ins until infrastructure and battery charge storage concerns are addressed. However, hybrid plug-ins, vehicles with additional driving range due to the addition of a petrol or diesel power source, are seen as a less risky alternative.
So, despite the early excitement surrounding plug-ins and their success in Europe and other overseas markets, it appears that the Australian market still has some way to go before it is fully plugged in!
* Includes the Holden Volt & Mitsubishi Outlander hybrid plug-ins.
