The Electric Vehicle Council has welcomed Prime Minister Anthony Albanese\u2019s comments defending electric vehicle policies as essential cost of living measures, made at a press conference on Friday morning.<\/p>\n
When asked about opposition calls to cut EV support, the Prime Minister was clear:<\/p>\n
\u201cThey\u2019ve called for cuts to EV support. I don\u2019t think there\u2019s anyone out there today who has bought an electric vehicle who\u2019s regretting the decision at this point in time.\u201d <\/i><\/i><\/p>\n
The Prime Minister added: \u201cMy Government has always been strong on cost of living measures. We\u2019ll continue to do so…\u201d <\/i><\/i><\/p>\n
Julie Delvecchio, CEO of the Electric Vehicle Council, welcomed the Prime Minister\u2019s position on electric vehicle support.<\/p>\n
\u201cOn Friday, the Prime Minister said it plainly and we\u2019re glad he did – support for EVs is a cost of living policy and he defended EV support.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe welcome that defence. Measures like the Electric Car Discount are practical, proven tools that put cleaner, cheaper transport within reach of ordinary Australians.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cEVs aren\u2019t a climate luxury \u2014 they\u2019re a cost of living measure. The Prime Minister said so today, and we agree.<\/p>\n
Minister for Climate Change and Energy Chris Bowen has echoed the sentiment, stating: \u201cWe don\u2019t think you make petrol cheaper by making electricity more expensive.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe EVC agrees with Minister Bowen.\u00a0 The cheapest fuel is the one you never have to buy at a servo,\u201d said Ms Delvecchio.<\/p>\n
\u201cSwitching to an electric vehicle is saving households up to $3,000 per year in fuel and protecting them from volatile fuel prices.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Council warned that any move to cut the Electric Car Discount would increase pressure on household budgets at a time when Australians are already facing cost of living challenges.<\/p>\n
Ms Delvecchio said that \u201cscrapping or weakening the Discount would make it harder for everyday Australians to access these savings and would lock more families into higher fuel costs.\u201d<\/p>\n
Beyond household benefits, the EVC emphasised the role EV uptake is playing in strengthening Australia\u2019s fuel security.<\/p>\n
Ms Delvecchio said \u201cevery electric vehicle on the road reduces Australia\u2019s reliance on imported petrol and diesel. That\u2019s good for drivers and it\u2019s good for the country.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAs global fuel markets remain uncertain, policies like the Electric Car Discount are helping insulate Australians from international price shocks while keeping more money in local economies.\u201d<\/p>\n
The EVC called on all members of Parliament to support the continued success of the policy.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is a practical, popular reform that is delivering real benefits right now.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe urge policymakers to retain the Electric Car Discount so more Australians can lower their transport costs and Australia can continue strengthening its fuel independence.\u201d<\/p>\n
ENDS <\/b><\/b><\/p>\n
Media contact: <\/b><\/b>Todd Hayward: +61 412 205 151 – <\/b>media@evc.org.au<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n About Us:<\/strong> The Electric Vehicle Council is the peak national body representing the electric vehicle industry in Australia. Representing members from across the value chain of the electric vehicle sector, the EVC is a trusted advisor and advocate to governments and decision makers across Australia. Our mission is to drive investment and awareness to accelerate the electrification of transport, for a more sustainable and prosperous Australia.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The Electric Vehicle Council has welcomed Prime Minister Anthony Albanese\u2019s comments defending electric vehicle policies…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":20,"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-19839","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\/19839","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\/20"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/electricvehiclecouncil.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=19839"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/electricvehiclecouncil.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19839\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":19842,"href":"https:\/\/electricvehiclecouncil.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19839\/revisions\/19842"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/electricvehiclecouncil.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=19839"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/electricvehiclecouncil.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=19839"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/electricvehiclecouncil.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=19839"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}