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Major transport players push federal EV progress

Big providers and customers keen to advance electric propulsion

 

Electric vehicle (EV) proponents have some of the biggest transport names and their customers in their corner, the latest submissions to have surfaced at the Select Committee on Electric Vehicles show

The Australian Logistics Council’s ALC Electric Vehicles Working Group count Linfox, Toll, Qube Australia Post and DHL amongst its members, along with major customers such as Coles, Woolworths and Liberty OneSteel.

The submission follows swiftly on from the working group’s inaugural meeting on July 25, where members gave their support to increasing the use of electric vehicles for freight deliveries.

“The Senate Select Committee on Electric Vehicles should note the enthusiasm of the freight logistics industry to adopt electric vehicles as part of their businesses.

“Companies are already factoring in an uptake of electric vehicles on their operations. For example, Qube Logistics is installing electric vehicle charging stations at its Moorebank Intermodal Terminal, now under construction.

“In the short-term, freight operators believe that high volume; short distance freight would be the first to benefit from electric vehicles. It is envisaged that residents living in larger metropolitan areas, who purchase consumer goods online, may be the first to receive their orders from electric vehicles.”

The working group argues for the federal government to take the lead in preparing the nation for an EV future, including electrically propelled heavy-duty trucks, and incentivising uptake.

“Electric vehicles offer an effective and visible way for logistics operators to reduce greenhouse gas emissions,” the working group says.

“Studies have found that an electric vehicle using electricity generated from a coal fired power plant is only using two-thirds of the energy a petrol/diesel vehicle would use to travel the same distance.

“Of course, the greenhouse gas and particulate emissions are further decreased when electric vehicles are fuelled by renewable energy.”

The working group is also confident of cost-savings to be had from EVs while cognisant of federal revenue implications.

It is also acknowledged that electric vehicles avoid Fuel Excise Tax – which is currently levied at $0.409/litre.

“While capital costs for electric vehicles are higher than for petrol/diesel vehicles, it is also often cheaper to maintain and operate an electric vehicle.

“The ALC Electric Vehicles Working Group believes that, in the long-run, it is cheaper to purchase an electric vehicle.”


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In common with the experience in certain northern hemisphere cities, the supermarkets are sensitive to pressures to reduce noise in cities when restocking.

“Outside environmental considerations, electric vehicles are also quieter than conventional internal combustion engines, and so reduce noise pollution,” the submission states.

“This is important for supermarket operators, such as Woolworths, who are often not able deliver produce to their stores at night due to curfews enforced by local governments.”

  • The working group offers 12 points for the federal government to make progress on, requesting it:
  • take a national leadership role and seek to influence national consistency in electric vehicle registration schemes. This includes ensuring that heavy vehicles (as defined by the Heavy Vehicle National Law) are included in any registration system which incentivises the uptake of electric vehicles.
  • further expand its Green Vehicle Guide (greenvehicleguide.gov.au) to include heavy vehicles, as defined by the Heavy Vehicle National Law (HVNL)
  • further expand its Green Vehicle Guide to identify and highlight State and Territory electric vehicle registration incentives
  • utilise the Clean Energy Finance Corporation to provide low interest finance to companies in order to install electric vehicle charging stations
  • leverage City Deals to further develop charging infrastructure and encourage planning regimes favourable to electric vehicle use
  • continue the Smart Cities and Suburbs Programand actively look to fund electric freight vehicle trials under this program in the future
  • ensure that any plan developed to increase the use of electric vehicles in Australia is consistent and enhances existing state/territory and local government-based electric vehicle policies
  • ensure that all aspects of the electric vehicle chain – from manufacture to maintenance – are capable of obtaining funding through the Clean Energy Finance Corporation
  • waive the $25 fee issued for a National Heavy Vehicle Plate when the vehicle registered is an electric vehicle
  • ensure that market participants engaged in the research and & development of electric vehicle batteries are eligible and to receive, and are aware of, the research and development tax incentive.
  • ensure that electric vehicles are adequately depreciated for tax purposes
  • review the Australian Design Rules, given the unique size and shape of light commercial electric vehicles.

The group wants all governments to “work collaboratively to ensure a consistent and reliable source of energy to power electric vehicles”.

The full submission can be found here.

 

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