HOSTON ENERGY
05, September, 2023
——New EV registrations in Tasmania have almost doubled in the past 12 months
——Advocates are calling for more EV charger
New EV Registrations in Tasmania Has Almost Doubled
But supporters say range anxiety remains a problem due to a lack of EV charging stations.
Figures from the Australian Automobile Association (AAA) show the number of light electric vehicles registered in Tasmania jumped 97% between January 2022 and 2023. The RACT said Tasmania and Victoria were 2 states where almost 1 in 10 cars sold was electric.
Jon Ettershank, director of the Electric Vehicle Association of Australia in Tasmania, welcomed the results. “EV dealers and charging station operators will be encouraged that they have made the right choice to enter a rapidly growing market,” he said.
“People are now starting to realize the benefits of electric vehicles, so education is finally starting to catch up.”
Garry Bailey, RACT’s chief advocacy officer, echoed Ettershank’s sentiments. He said the data shows the demand for electric cars is there, with 166 fully electric cars set to hit the road between the first and second quarters of 2023.“As of July 31, there were 2,500 electric cars registered on our roads out of 700,000 registered vehicles in Tasmania,” he said.
“The challenge for Tasmania is that we have the oldest cars, with an average age of 13 years compared to the national average of 10 years, and the growing trend in the number of electric cars is inevitable,” Mr. Bailey said.
EV Advocates Are Calling for More Charging Stations
Anthony Brose van Groenno, co-founder of Tasmanian electric car company Good Car Co, said the new AAA data confirmed what his company had been seeing for some time. “Today, you just have to look around and see electric cars everywhere,” he said.
“A lot of groundwork has been done since we started operations, a lot of education has been done, the Electric Vehicle Association of Australia and other organizations and state governments have been doing electric vehicle education programs.
“We are seeing the fruits of that labor.”
Broese van Groenou said the supply of electric vehicles has also increased significantly.
“For a long time, you couldn’t actually get any supply of electric vehicles, which is why we imported used electric vehicles from Japan and the UK.
“But now we’re finally getting electric vehicles into Australia, and there are some federal tax incentives.”
Bailey acknowledged that there are still some frustrations for electric car drivers, especially when it comes to the use of charging stations.
There are only about 120 public electric car charging stations in Tasmania. “Like all infrastructure, something breaks down and we’ve had that happen with chargers across the state, so we need to built more new electric car charging stations,” Mr Bailey said.
While young drivers may find the electric car market overpriced, there are signs that the price of electric vehicles is coming down. Broese van Groenou says the emerging second-hand market is having an impact and there are other options, such as leasing or car rental.
Last year, employers who provide electric vehicles to their employees introduced a federal fringe benefits tax exemption, meaning “ownership is not necessarily the only way,” he said.
In short, Tasmania’s electric vehicle market is gradually expanding.
The demand for electric vehicle supporting facilities is also becoming increasingly apparent.
It would be wise to invest in charging stations in Tasmania.
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