The peak corridor for Australian car brands has been contested for offering fuel economy and CO2 emissions reduction plans that are less demanding on its members than similar policies in the UK. Europe or the United States.
The Federal Chamber of Automotive Industry (FCAI), the lobbying group in question, countered that it wanted electric and hybrid vehicles to flourish, but claimed there were reasons why Australia could not go down the path of de-carbonisation. carbon like other countries.
So what’s the story here, you ask?
Based on Research commissioned by FCAI is being presented For the media and government, the types of vehicles commonly favored by Australians and their provenance will reduce fleet emissions to levels comparable to many other parts of the globe.
It also suggests that proposals to ban the sale of internal combustion vehicles by the 2030s risk driving people out of the market when everything is fine – despite the introduction of rebates and tax cuts on the recent electric car. across the States and Territories.
This second point goes against many claims from car brands about previously achievable cost parity.
In fact, FCAI wants the Federal Government’s long-awaited CO2 reduction plan to be in line with proposed voluntary targets for car brands by 2030 – although it reserves the right to tighten them as time goes on, it claims.
A sensible binding scheme, which penalizes car brands that exceed their fleet average target, is seen by many as a key plan for car brands hoping to secure a wide range of vehicle emissions. lower than EVs, which are still limited in supply and therefore less common than they might be.
Countries where automakers fined for not selling enough low-CO2 cars tend to be favored by factories. Australia is different in that it lacks this kind of binding CO2 plan, which is a major reason car brands say they don’t have enough green cars here to meet demand.
The Morrison government has refused to enact a policy and the Albanese government has yet to change the policy – although it will almost certainly happen, hence all the controversy among interest groups over the form of the policy. it.
FCAI has appealed to many governments to put such a scheme into law for many years now, which somewhat undermines the suggestion that they are trying to stop the launch of lower-emissions cars and promote swashbucklers. .
But there is no argument that FCAI’s voluntary CO2 reduction target is 35% per passenger car and light SUV by 2030 (to 98 grams per km); and the 26% cut for heavy duty trucks, vans and SUVs (to 143g/km), which is weak in the global context. Too weak for many people.
Europe has demanded that new cars emit an average of 95g/km and trucks 147g/km – which is the same as what FCAI wants from Australia by 2030. By the end of the decade, Europe wants a 55% cut compared to what FCAI wants from Australia by the end of the decade. current level and zero emissions from new vehicles starting 2035.
The current CO2 targets in the US, China and even New Zealand appear to be more difficult than those proposed by the FCAI. The situation is further amplified by the fact that CO2 emissions across Australia’s fleet are now on average high, meaning the proposed cuts have to go deeper.
Referring to FCAI’s plan, both the Electric Vehicle Council and renewable energy advocacy group Solar Citizens said it didn’t go far enough, with the former going as far as saying the government must “ignore standards” weak standards that some industries are advocating”.
“Australia will languish in queues for the best and most affordable electric cars and fail to reach net zero unless it ignores the car industry’s action and introduces thrifty standards.” legal fuel economy in line with standards enforced in the US or Europe,” the EV Council said.
A story that was widely quoted today Sydney Morning Herald accused the lobby of “a wide-ranging covert campaign” to delay the rollout of electric vehicles and impede the government’s desired 43 percent CO2 cuts by 2030 and zero by 2050.
It is true that FCAI has informed industry stakeholders (including the media) of a plan to, in its words, “decarbonize the light vehicle sector in the most efficient and effective manner in Australian context”, using commissioned research from S&P Global Research.
The stated targets include outlining how and when lower-emission vehicles are expected to be sold in Australia with no policy change; explain the impact of different policy choices to speed up the transition; and help negotiate a legally mandated CO2 standard that is “appropriate for Australia”.
Some of the key findings include the claim that, without leverage, electric vehicles will account for only 18% of new car sales in Australia by 2030 (about 2.0% today), compared with 31% of the market share. of mild hybrid vehicles (48V), 23% for conventional Toyota-style hybrids and 24% for ICE vehicles.
By 2033, the same report shows that the electric vehicle market share in Australia is on track to hit 25%, again with no policy changes in place. The report says about three-quarters of luxury cars will be EVs by this time, compared with just 21% of mainstream cars.
One reason for this alarming disparity is the claim that the majority of Australia’s best-selling models – Toyota HiLux, Ford Ranger, etc – are unlikely to be electrified in the medium-term future, no. like in the US, where electric pickups like the Ford F-150 Lightning are proliferating.
The FCAI report makes the unusual claim that a meager 2% of truck and van sales in 2033 in Australia are on track to switch to electric as things remain stable, and vans and vans account for almost a quarter. quarter of total sales in the Australian market .
It’s worth noting that demand for last-mile electric vans, as well as plans from Ford, LDV, Mercedes-Benz and Renault to sell them there soon, still leave some doubts, despite these concerns. The mid-size car is still much larger than the market share here, unlike Europe.
“While regions such as Europe, China and North America will strongly electrify vehicle services, South Asia remains less progressive due to lower compliance requirements and lower prices,” the report said. declare
“As an important vehicle supply region for Australia, it leads to a move towards less electrified Australia.”
The FCAI report also claims that even though the price of an entry-level EV passenger car will drop by $17,400 by 2030 and the price of an entry-level EV SUV will drop by $8490 over the same time period, they are still would be $10,000 to $12,500 higher on average. more expensive than the cheapest ICE versions.
As a result, any EV mandate is likely to affect lower socioeconomic buyers, according to FCAI, although the numbers are clearly controversial – especially given the with ICE cars inevitably becoming more expensive as the CO2 target becomes increasingly difficult to achieve.
EV Council CEO Behyad Jafari has been harsh about the FCAI report, reflecting the growing disconnect between the two representations that are often brought before the courts of public opinion.
The EV Council actually represents many of the same car brands that are part of FCAI, including Audi, BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Hyundai, Land Rover, Mitsubishi, Nissan, Porsche, Tesla, Volkswagen and Volkswagen.
“The only fuel economy standards that will make a difference are those that match those that exist in the US and Europe,” Mr. Jafari argues.
“Australia has missed the boat for 30 years in setting fuel economy standards that make us today the world’s dumping ground for dirty vehicles. If we end up doing that and then come up with standards that don’t work, that’s going to be a tragedy.
“Automakers sell large numbers of their vehicles into markets with fuel economy standards because that helps avoid penalties. There is currently no such incentive in Australia, causing the market to rank it down to a lower-order priority.
“If we want to see larger and more frequent shipments of EVs to the Australian government, we should ignore the weak standards that some industries are lobbying for.
“There is no path to zero by 2050 unless Australia stops selling emission vehicles by 2035. Cars in Australia have an average lifespan of 15 years. If we still sell a significant number of internal combustion engine vehicles in 2036, we won’t be successful. It’s that simple.”
Touching on the same problem, Australian Research Institute today said it would save $5.9 billion in fuel costs and avoid emissions equivalent to a year of domestic flights, if strong fuel efficiency standards were in place by 2020. 2015.
“Australians are being left behind simply because, as a country, we are still accepting gas-guzzling cars with no emissions standards. This is costing passengers money on gas and making it impossible for Australia to reduce our emissions,” said the Director of the Climate & Energy Program. Richie Merzian.
“… Fuel economy standards are a broad and modest policy mechanism used by policymakers around the globe to ensure new cars operate more efficiently and with less pollution. These standards exist in 80% of the vehicle market but are absent in Australia despite numerous government reports, requests and commitments saying we need them.
“Previous attempts to introduce fuel economy standards in Australia have been marred by misinformation and outright lies. Unfortunately, every day Australians bear the cost. Australian car drivers have paid more than billions for expensive foreign oil to fuel gas-guzzling cars that have been rejected by the rest of the world.
“The Albanese government has a golden opportunity to implement robust fuel efficiency standards in line with Europe. This policy is very popular, helps Australians with the cost of living and will help promote the use of cleaner vehicles.”
One thing is for sure, everyone agrees on the need to tie CO2 reduction targets, it’s just a matter of how deep they actually go.
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