Australian state spends $375M on EV boost to become the Norway down under

A month ago, New South Wales (NSW) Transport Minister Andrew Constance had criticized Australia’s slow transition to EVs, emphasizing the need for bigger incentives. 

Well, that’s old news! Two days ago, the NSW government announced an ambitious $375 million plan for battery-powered cars, the Sydney Morning Herald reports. The government hopes that with this plan EVs will make up more than half of new car sales by 2030. 

Specifically, stamp duty will be removed from EVs that cost less than $58,580 by September this year, and a $2,253 rebate will be given to the first 25,000 vehicles sold in New South Wales for under $51,069. 

But there’s a catch. This extra support will be counterbalanced by a road-user charge of $1.9 cents per kilometer by 2027, or once electric vehicles make up 30% of new car sales. 

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The same road-user charge has been introduced in Victoria and will start the first of July, a fact that was heavily criticized by Constance.

The minister had commented that the Victorian’s state tax on electric vehicles is happening “too soon,” and that the NSW government would not apply such a levy until EVs make up 40 to 50% of the car market – which now dropped to 30%. 

Notably, compared to Victoria, NSW state’s budget is fiver times larger, and the government also plans to invest $128 million on highway charging infrastructure. What’s more, new regulations will allow EVs to use transit lanes and priority parking spots to recharge. 

“We’re charging up the nation to make NSW the Norway of Australia when it comes to electric vehicles,” Environment Minister Matt Kean said, referring to Europe’s largest EV market.

This sounds somewhat overconfident, coming from a state that is only now embarking on the EV switch, but NSW’s plan is indeed the most “aggressive” yet in Australia. With EVs currently making up less than 1% of new car sales in New South Wales, the government’s Electric Vehicle Strategy pack can only be a good thing. 

Do EVs excite your electrons? Do ebikes get your wheels spinning? Do self-driving cars get you all charged up? 

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