{"id":19285,"date":"2025-08-04T14:36:53","date_gmt":"2025-08-04T04:36:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/electricvehiclecouncil.com.au\/?p=19285"},"modified":"2025-08-08T16:43:58","modified_gmt":"2025-08-08T06:43:58","slug":"evc-pushes-back-on-productivity-commissions-call-to-scrap-electric-car-incentives","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/electricvehiclecouncil.com.au\/media-releases\/evc-pushes-back-on-productivity-commissions-call-to-scrap-electric-car-incentives\/","title":{"rendered":"EVC pushes back on Productivity Commission\u2019s call to scrap electric car incentives"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The Electric Vehicle Council has welcomed the Productivity Commission\u2019s interim recommendation to incentivise emissions reduction in heavy vehicles \u2013 but warned its push to scrap the Fringe Benefits Tax exemption for EVs would slam the brakes on passenger EV uptake in Australia.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe Commission\u2019s report gets one thing right and one thing very wrong,\u201d <strong>EVC CEO Julie Delvecchio<\/strong> said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt rightly recommends targeted support for zero-emissions trucks but then inexplicably turns around and proposes scrapping the very incentives that are finally helping everyday Australians afford an electric car.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The Commission\u2019s interim report on the net zero transformation calls for:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>A new emissions-reduction incentive to cover heavy vehicles, which are not captured by the Safeguard Mechanism<\/li>\n<li>The elimination of discounts for passenger EVs, including the FBT exemption, also known as the Electric Car Discount.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Julie Delvecchio said the recommendations send mixed signals at a critical time for the transition.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf we\u2019re serious about net zero, we need to accelerate \u2013 not decelerate \u2013 the shift to clean transport. That means backing in the policies that are working.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe Electric Car Discount has been a game-changer, especially for fleets and everyday workers who couldn\u2019t previously afford to go electric. Removing it now would be like ripping out the charging cable halfway through the trip.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf we want to see more EVs on our roads and reduce emissions we need to do much more. We need to increase EV uptake and that means expanding purchase incentives like the Electric Car Discount and state-based discounts, not removing them.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSuggesting we end incentives just as Australia finally catches up to the rest of the developed world with an efficiency standard is short-sighted. We need both &#8211; they work together, not in isolation.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cScrapping the discount on EVs now would pull the handbrake on electric vehicle adoption across Australia meaning more toxic pollution, poorer health outcomes, and a deeper addiction to foreign-owned fossil fuels. Right around the world, the countries that have achieved mainstream EV uptake have been supported by demand-side incentives.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cPurchase EV incentives are not only helping more everyday Australians afford the upfront cost of cheaper-to-run cars, but they\u2019re also driving lasting shifts in consumer behaviour which is essential in cutting emissions. Once people go electric, they rarely go back to petrol or diesel because making the switch saves them up to $3,000 every year and frees them from relying on dirty, foreign-owned fuel.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMore EVs on Australian roads are a win for our health, environment, and economy. Electric vehicles reduce emissions, improve the air we breathe, save drivers money, and have the potential to strengthen national resilience by supporting grid stability and reducing our reliance on foreign-owned fuels.\u201d<\/p>\n<div aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/div>\n<p>Media contacts:<strong>Sofie Wainwright<\/strong>: 0403 920 301<\/p>\n<div class=\"clearfix\"><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Electric Vehicle Council has welcomed the Productivity Commission\u2019s interim recommendation to incentivise emissions reduction&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":17,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"content-type":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[47],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-19285","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-media-releases"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/electricvehiclecouncil.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19285","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/electricvehiclecouncil.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/electricvehiclecouncil.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/electricvehiclecouncil.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/17"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/electricvehiclecouncil.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=19285"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/electricvehiclecouncil.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19285\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":19288,"href":"https:\/\/electricvehiclecouncil.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19285\/revisions\/19288"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/electricvehiclecouncil.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=19285"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/electricvehiclecouncil.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=19285"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/electricvehiclecouncil.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=19285"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}