Skip to main content

New national body to drive uptake of electric vehicles in Australia

A new industry-led national body that aims to drive the uptake of electric vehicles (EV) in Australia has been launched in Canberra. A total of 17 organisations, including non-profit organisation ClimateWorks Australia, Tesla, Audi, BMW, Jaguar Land Rover, infrastructure firm JET charge and the Royal Automobile Club of Victoria have joined the Electric Vehicle Council.
June 2, 2017 Read time: 2 mins

A new industry-led national body that aims to drive the uptake of electric vehicles (EV) in Australia has been launched in Canberra.

A total of 17 organisations, including non-profit organisation ClimateWorks Australia, 8534 Tesla, 2125 Audi, 1731 BMW, 7998 Jaguar Land Rover, infrastructure firm JET charge and the Royal Automobile Club of Victoria have joined the Electric Vehicle Council.

Minister for Energy and Environment, Josh Frydenberg, who attended the launch, announced a US$288,000 (AU$390,000) grant from the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) to support the uptake of electric vehicles in Australia.

The Electric Vehicle Council’s chair, Behyad Jafari, said the market for electric vehicles includes significant opportunities to deliver economic investment, innovation and environmental sustainability.

The Council plans to focus on addressing the barriers preventing the mass uptake of EVs in Australia. In addition to introducing vehicle emission standards, key policy measures include incentivising electric vehicle purchase in the short term as the technology works to meet price parity through upfront incentives and taxation measures, as well as establishing a recommended roadmap for national public charging infrastructure.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • EVs on a roll
    October 8, 2014
    A recently updated report by IDTechEx, Electric Vehicle Forecasts, Trends and Opportunities 2015-2025, indicates that the global market forecast for all hybrid and pure electric vehicles is expected to exceed US$533 billion in 2025. Sales of the BMW i3 and Tesla Model S pure electric cars are rising rapidly, with Tesla holding back demand because it cannot produce enough for at least a year. Those are premium priced vehicles. The major problem with mainstream pure electric cars is price. However, App
  • Transport industry experts gather in Brussels to commit to hydrogen mobility
    September 22, 2017
    Transport industry leaders have gathered in Brussels today to confirm their commitment to expanding the deployment of fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEVs) and hydrogen refuelling infrastructure across Europe Global vehicle manufacturers, including Audi, BMW, Daimler, Honda, Hyundai, Symbio and Toyota, as well as leading hydrogen refuelling infrastructure providers, are gathering at the Hydrogen for Clean Transport conference to discuss and debate hydrogen-based solutions towards a zero emission transport
  • Transportation’s electrifying future
    August 1, 2023
    Climbing out of our silos will be vital to create the frameworks and networks needed to decarbonise transport, if we are serious about mitigating climate change, says Colin Sowman
  • Finalists shortlisted for ITS Australia National Awards 2017
    October 10, 2017
    The finalists have been shortlisted for the ITS Australia National Awards 2017. The winners will be announced at The Pavilion, Arts Centre Melbourne on 23 November 2017. This year’s event has a record number of nominations and nearly twice as many submissions considered by the judging panel across all categories, compared to last year. For the Industry award, the finalists and their projects include Aldridge Traffic Controllers – ATSC4 Traffic Signal Controller with VC6.1 and HRS Software, CEOS