Ultra-rapid charge to Victoria’s electric vehicle transition

The announcement of the imminent rollout of Australia’s fastest electric vehicle ultra-rapid charging stations under the Andrews Government sets the stage for Victoria to lead the way in the transition to climate-safe, low emissions vehicles, said Environment Victoria today.

New electric vehicle models will hit the Australian market next month, and Environment Victoria is calling on all parties to adopt ambitious policies to support the rollout of electric vehicles ahead of the Victorian state election.

“With the right investment and strong government ambition, Victoria can be a leader in deploying electric vehicles,” said Dean Rizzetti, Public Policy and Advocacy Manager at Environment Victoria.

“This is incredible new technology. The stations will be capable of fully charging an electric vehicle in under 15 minutes, sourced from 100 percent renewable energy.

“By adopting strong policies, the next state government can make Victoria the home of electric cars, giving Victorians access to the latest technology to reduce both emissions and cut transport fuel costs.

“To secure the benefits of electric vehicles, we need the next state government to have a clear long-term plan to deploy this new technology as part of a comprehensive strategy to clean up our transport system. This means we need to significantly increase investment in public and active transport alongside electric vehicles.

“We know the uptake of electric vehicles will increase the amount of energy we draw from the grid, so it is vital that we continue to invest in large scale renewable energy to keep costs down and ensure that electric cars help reduce carbon pollution.

“Ahead of the November election, we’re calling on all parties to provide Victorians with a long-term plan to secure our future of low emissions vehicles powered by renewable energy,” said Mr Rizzetti.

Environment Victoria is calling on all sides of politics to commit to the following policies to be delivered over the next five years:

• Set a target for 5% of all new car sales to be electric vehicles or plug-in hybrids
• Allow Electric Vehicles to use high occupancy lanes
• Cut stamp duty and provide a five-year registration holiday for all electric cars
• Set an ambitious emissions target for Victoria’s government vehicle fleet
• Offer rebates to build public charging stations, with rebates targeted to areas where they are needed to build a network that avoids clusters in affluent areas
• Bring online at least 1000 MW of new large-scale renewable energy every year for the next four years to clean up the grid while Victoria deploys electric vehicles.