Queensland Electric Vehicle Subsidy Announced

The Queensland Government has announced a pretty generous subsidy for electric car purchases, but Tesla buyers need not apply.

With fuel prices sitting well north of $2 a litre across much of Queensland (and Australia), electric vehicles have become even more enticing to many motorists peeved with putting a pretty big chunk of their pay packets through a petrol pump.

When releasing the Queensland Government’s new Zero Emissions Vehicle Strategy and Action Plan yesterday, Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk announced financial support for purchasing a new electric vehicle.

“We are going to make the cost of buying electric cars just that little bit cheaper,” the Premier said. “My government will provide a $3,000 subsidy for anyone buying an electric vehicle to the value of $58,000.”

While the announcement was accompanied by a great deal of self-congratulatory statements about Queensland’s progress on the zero emissions vehicle front, it was a little light on detail on the EV cash. But the ceiling of $58,000 means those hankering after a Tesla or other pricier EVs will have to pay full price for their electric dream machines. (Side note: TheDriven reported yesterday that Tesla Model 3 prices were very recently jacked up).

As well as the subsidy, recipients will also still be eligible to receive existing benefits such as discounted vehicle registration and registration duty costs. Further information on subsidy eligibility requirements, program guidelines and start dates will be available soon, but it’s been reported elsewhere applications can be made from July 1 and the subsidy will be available for three years.

$45 million is earmarked for this scheme, so that works out to 15,000 subsidies. With a bunch more EVs on Queensland roads pretty soon, this means more charging stations will be require too. The Premier has some of that need covered with a $10 million fund for public charging infrastructure.

What EVs Can You Buy For Under $58k?

CarExpert notes given the threshold, the following electric vehicles will be among those eligible:

• BYD Atto 3 – but it’s not available here yet (second quarter of 2023 likely)
• MG ZS EV
• Hyundai Ioniq
• Nissan Leaf
• Hyundai Kona (short-range)
• Electric Mini Cooper SE

Queensland Zero Emission Vehicle Strategy 2022-2032

The Zero Emission Vehicle Strategy 2022-2032 and Zero Emission Vehicle Action Plan 2022-2024 released yesterday are designed to “help drive the state’s commitment of net-zero by 2050”. Whether a pun was intended there isn’t clear.

The Strategy features the following targets:

• 50% of new passenger vehicle sales to be zero emission by 2030, and 100% by 2036
• 100% of eligible Queensland Government fleet passenger vehicles to be zero emission by 2026
• Each new TransLink funded bus to be a zero emissions model from 2025 in South East Queensland and from 2025-2030 across regional Queensland.

Commenting on the announcements, the Electric Vehicle Council of Australia stated:

“Great to see QLD supporting #EVs through a $3,000 incentive and a target of 100% passenger vehicle sales by 2036. We look forward to helping them get it done!”

While an electric car is a big investment, running costs are comparatively as cheap as chips – particularly if you have solar panels installed on your home. Learn more in the SolarQuotes Homeowner’s Guide To Solar Power And Electric Cars.

Original Source: https://www.solarquotes.com.au/blog/queensland-ev-subsidy-mb2397/