Electric Vehicle Opinions Victoria Poll Results

Recent polling finds many Victorians would prefer an electric car for their next vehicle purchase, but taxes on EVs could have an impact on uptake.

A survey of more than 2,000 voters carried out in six key electorates (Richmond, Albert Park, Oakleigh, Eltham, Bentleigh and Mordialloc) by Redbridge for the Electric Vehicle Council revealed 48.2% would prefer an electric vehicle, while 30.4% are leading towards petrol/diesel. 21.4% weren’t sure.

93.8% of respondents didn’t own an EV. 53.9% of those hadn’t purchased yet due to the cost of vehicles and 15.6% due to a perception there wasn’t enough charging infrastructure in place. 13.0% preferred “traditional” cars.

Other survey results include:

• 47.3% believed the EV industry received less support than the traditional vehicle industry, compared to 18% stating it received more support, 11.9% around the same and 22.8% unsure.
• 60.4% said it was “very important” governments set policies that encourage people to purchase electric and non-polluting vehicles.
• 59.7% of respondents said a government supporting electric vehicles would make them more likely to support the government (18.3% less likely and 21.9% unsure).
• 65.4% believed governments should offer cash incentives to make electric and zero-pollution vehicles more affordable (23.0% No, 11.7% unsure).

ZLEV Road User Charge (Tax) Reactions

In November last year Victorian Treasurer Tim Pallas announced plans to introduce a 2.5 cent/km charge for electric vehicles, and a 2.0 cent/km charge for plug-in hybrids. According to the Andrews Government, the proposed tax is being introduced to ensure EV owners make a fair contribution to funding Victorian roads. However, revenue from the first few years of the charge would go towards accelerating the adoption of zero and low emission vehicles.

According to the poll results only 36.1% thought the Andrews Government’s plan to introduce road taxes for EV users was to make road funding fair. 44.1% believed it was about raising taxes and almost 20 per cent were of the opinion it was to benefit petrol and oil companies.

72.1% believed governments introducing more taxes on electric vehicles will mean fewer people buy them.

Commenting on the results relating to EV taxes and charges, Chief Executive of the Electric Vehicle Council Behyad Jafari said:

“It’s clear the Andrews Government needs to do a complete re-steer.”

If passed, the zero and low emission vehicles (ZLEV) road-user charge would kick in from July 1 this year. When electric car owners pay their registration online, a bill will be automatically generated based on odometer information provided.

Electric vehicle owners could expect to pay an additional $330 a year, while plug-in hybrid owners would pay an additional $260 a year based the average distance travelled for light passenger vehicles in Victoria (~13,100 km). ZLEV owners subject to the tax will continue to receive a $100 registration discount on their annual Victorian registration.

On Friday, The Age reported the ZLEV road user charge was facing a rough road ahead as the government doesn’t have the support to pass the legislation in Parliament’s upper house.

Yesterday, Mr. Jafari tweeted:

“GM saw fit to leave Australia shortly before announcing they would go all electric by 2035. Clearly they saw the Aus policy landscape as a hindrance to that objective. Suggesting a further tax on EVs at this early stage shows how out of touch Treasurers are with global markets.”

On a related note, SQ Founder Finn chatted with ABC Newcastle Drive presenter Paul Turton on Friday about the potential for EV manufacturing in Australia generally (starts around the 1hr. 18m mark), as did Ronald last year.

“A company would be very brave to invest a lot of money in manufacturing electric vehicles with the government policy, which is very anti-electric vehicle,” said Finn.

The full results from the Electric Vehicle Opinions Victoria poll can be viewed here.

If you’re considering purchasing an EV and want to know how many solar panels you’ll need at home for charging, check out SQ’s Homeowner’s Guide To Solar And Electric Cars.

Original Source: https://www.solarquotes.com.au/blog/ev-poll-victoria-mb1861/