The Australia Institute welcomes the establishment of a Senate Select Committee on Electric Vehicles, and congratulates Senator Tim Storer for taking the initiative to bring this to the consideration of the Senate, and on his role as Chair of the committee.

“There is a race to transition the world’s massive car fleet to electric vehicles and Australia is falling behind,” says Dan Cass, strategist at The Australia Institute.

“Governments around the world offer incentives to support electric vehicles, Australia does not. Meanwhile, Australia was one of only 13 countries in the world that could build a car from beginning to end. That is, until Australia’s last car manufacturer — Holden in South Australia — closed late last year.

“Technological improvements make electric vehicles more affordable – particularly the price of lithium-ion batteries, which fell 93% between 1995 and 2014. But there are structural impediments to Australians taking advantage of the increasing affordability of electric vehicles.

“The Senate needs to consider what policies could be implemented to overcome these structural barriers. 

“If governments act now to support the development of the electric vehicles market, economic and environmental benefits will follow.”

Read The Australia Institute’s report on electric vehicles: If you build it they will charge: Sparking Australia’s electric vehicle boom.