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    Victoria to end $3,000 Electric Vehicle rebate early?? Please explain Dan Andrews!

    In what can only be described as a WTF moment, we have strange news tonight (reported by The Driven) that Victoria is set to end the $3,000 discount on new EVs early.

    The official program name is the Zero Emissions Vehicle (ZEV) Subsidy and was designed to encourage EV adoption by making them more affordable. The detail for the program is on Solar Victoria’s website which explains that applications are open until June 30th, 2023.

    The ZEV subsidy reduces the upfront cost of a new zero-emissions vehicle (ZEV) to get more Victorians driving the future of transport sooner.

    ZEVs are an important step in Victoria’s transition to a clean energy future. They do not use petroleum fuels and therefore do not emit greenhouse gas emissions from the tailpipe.

    The subsidy began on May 2nd, 2021 and offered $3,000 for eligible new ZEVs. That eligibility criterion included having a purchase price under the threshold of $68,740.

    The Government received a lot of praise by committing $46 Million to the scheme and which included offering this discount to 20,000 ZEV buyers.

    We know there hasn’t been anywhere near this number of subsidies provided, so this means the Victorian Government and Premier Daniel Andrews has a lot of explaining to do, as to why this subsidy is ending early.

    Recently the Victorian State Budget was announced and included in that, was a new home battery storage scheme that offered zero-interest loans for up to $8,800. All of these initiatives help the state reach their objective of having net-zero emissions by 2045. This change feels counter-productive to this ambition.

    On the DEECA’s Climate Change website, they provide a document called ‘Victoria’s 2035 Emissions Reduction Target‘.

    Included in this document is the statement that the Victorian Government has joined the Accelerating to Zero Coalition, which pledges to work towards the sales of all new cars and vans being zero emissions globally by 2040, and in leading markets by 2035. This builds on the Victorian Government’s target for ZEVs to be 50% of new light vehicles sales by 2030.

    While the purchase price of Electric Vehicles remains high, subsidies like the $3,000 off a new EV, can drive consumer behaviour to choose a zero-emission vehicle, the system was working, so my question is.. why on earth would we stop it now?

    Electric Vehicle adoption in Australia represented 7.7% of new car sales in the month of May. While that’s growing from just a couple of per cent a short time ago, that means the vast, vast majority of cars we’re still putting on the road are polluting ICE vehicles.

    There may be a time when removing this subsidy makes sense (like when price parity arrives with lower battery costs), but that time is not now.

    We recently saw QLD double their subsidy, offering $6,000 off the price of a new vehicle. There are plenty of options between $3,000 and $0.. why not reduce it to $2,000 and make it stretch to more customers, or lower the purchase price threshold to ensure those who can afford EVs don’t consume the subsidies that could otherwise have gone to lower-income families.

    This move is incredibly disappointing and frankly confusing as it goes completely against the renewable energy objectives of Victoria. Let’s hope they reconsider and common sense is returned.

    With a new end date of June 30, at 6 pm, it’s likely we’ll see a surge of new orders for EVs over the next 3 weeks.

    Jason Cartwright
    Jason Cartwrighthttps://techau.com.au/author/jason/
    Creator of techAU, Jason has spent the dozen+ years covering technology in Australia and around the world. Bringing a background in multimedia and passion for technology to the job, Cartwright delivers detailed product reviews, event coverage and industry news on a daily basis. Disclaimer: Tesla Shareholder from 20/01/2021

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