The federal government has announced an incentive scheme to try and push more car buyers into EVs, by cutting interest rates on certain loans for buyers that fall in a certain category.
Low-to-middle income earners – those who earn under $100,000 per year – are being offered access to loans that have interest rates up to 5 percentage points lower than regular rates. Essential workers, such as those in police, teaching, fire and hospital sectors are also eligible.
The deal is for EVs that are under $55,000, with discounts available for EV charging installations and secondhand EVs as well. If you ever needed proof there is an election coming and the government is desperate, here it is.
So let’s get this right, taxpayers are funding a ($150 million) scheme that aims to help low-to-middle income earners buy an EV. We’re currently facing higher costs of living than before and many people around the country are doing it tough. Is buying a car a top priority?
Buying a sub-$55,000 anything doesn’t seem like saving money in my opinion. However, according to the Electric Vehicle Council – big members include Ampol, Angle Auto Finance, Ausgrid, BP Australia, Coles, and Commonwealth Bank of Australia – this is a “cost-of-living win”.
When looking over some of those members you just know their best interest is in saving the planet and the environment, and not just about making money…
Nonetheless, its head of legal, policy, and advocacy, Aman Gaur, had this to say in a recent press release:
“Electric driving is the most fuel-efficient and cost-effective way to travel. Once people are behind the wheel of a battery electric vehicle, they can save thousands of dollars a year on fuel and maintenance costs.”
Now there’s an intelligent comment. Especially the part about “once people are behind the wheel” of an EV, they can start saving money. But in order to get behind the wheel they need to spend thousands of dollars.
Currently, the cheapest new EV on the market is the $32,990 drive-away MG4. But only until the end of the December. In between that and the $55,000 cap, there are a handful of offerings.
So instead of encouraging motorists to remain in their current vehicle, perhaps helping people out by reducing servicing costs to make sure their vehicles are running at their best (while keeping jobs/money in Australia), the government thinks buying another car (and throwing away their current one?) is the best idea.
Let’s take a figure right down the middle, $40,000. You could spend that on buying a new or used EV. Or, say you currently have a 10-year-old Toyota Corolla, and it’s using about 10L/100km. If you travel around 15,000km per year (the national average), $40,000 could get you 13.3 years of driving. Even take off 3 years to pay for some good servicing and maintenance.
I’d bet that is going to be a lot more beneficial to the environment – and your bank balance – than throwing it away and taking out a loan.
And that’s not factoring in the processes required to build a new car; digging up exotic materials, shipping them around, using resources to build an entirely new car, then shipping it thousands of kilometres overseas. Then if it’s an EV, charging it with a predominately coal-powered grid. Because, don’t forget, EVs are only eco-friendly to energise and drive if they are charged during the day with solar.
Sorry to go on a bit of rant there but this, in my opinion, is not the way to move forward with reducing emissions AND combating the cost of living crisis. This, in my opinion, is a sign of a frantic government trying to win votes and to suit their own financial and operational motives.
Electric vehicle sales have been relatively stable in the past 12 months, despite an influx of new models becoming available and despite various incentives for buyers to buy; novated leasing savings, slashed price tags, and other government incentives.
