New rules promising cheaper, cleaner electric vehicles and a wider choice of models under the Albanese government’s fuel efficiency standards, which for the first time impose minimum pollution standards on carmakers, have begun., the rules apply only to new car sales and limit the average emissions of a carmaker’s overall fleet of vehicles sold each year, measured in grams of carbon dioxide per kilometre.Companies must pay a penalty of $100 for each gram per kilometre the caps are exceeded.
“The NVES will lower our fuel bills, offer a wider choice of the latest, most fuel-efficient cars, and improve the air we breathe by reducing emissions.”Australia has one of the world’s most polluting car fleets. Motorists generate an average 170 grams of carbon dioxide per kilometre travelled – 20 per cent higher than the US, 15 per cent higher than New Zealand, and 40 per cent higher than the European Union.
Despite potential fuel savings, the purchase price of new EVs is a significant point of difference with petrol and diesel vehicles. There are only six EV models available under $40,000, an MG4 being the cheapest at about $30,000. Ten hybrid electric vehicles retail for under $40,000, the cheapest at $30,000., has said he would raise tariffs on Chinese EV imports to 200 per cent to protect US cars from competition.
The new year rings in another green reform as Treasurer Jim Chalmers’ changes to the Corporations Act kick off to force big companies to publish their annual greenhouse gas emissions.