Industry comes together to declare EV future

HVIA has joined with over one hundred organisations to declare our support for the Australian Government to push ahead with the National Electric Vehicle Strategy.

The collaborative initiative, led by the Electric Vehicle Council, included a double-page spread in The Australian & Sydney Morning Herald newspapers on Monday – coinciding with the last day for responses to the Government’s discussion paper.

Behyad Jafari, CEO, Electric Vehicle Council said the organisations hail from sectors including transport, retail, agriculture, health, technology, insurance, environment, and research.

“After years of inaction from Canberra, Australian EV policy is now ready to accelerate and business wants to ensure we don’t miss the moment,” Mr Jafari said.

“We can do all of this. But not while our policies and standards lag the world.

“We can fix that swiftly and these hundred are making it clear they want that to happen.”

HVIA Chief Executive Todd Hacking said Heavy Vehicle Industry Australia was proud to support the initiative.

“Our members are not taking a backward step on this journey,” Mr Hacking said.

“Through our HVIA-LITE project we are working with stakeholders from across industry, government and training organisations to clear the path for a heavy vehicle fleet progressively dominated by battery electric (BEV) and fuel cell electric (FCEV) zero-emission trucks.

“We are realistic about the hurdles that we need to overcome, but this sort of determination, from such a broad sector of industry, should not be mistaken for virtue signalling.

“Congratulations to Behyad Jafari and the Electric Vehicle Council for the leadership with this statement of unity.”

Electric Vehicle Council CEO Behyad Jafari

In backing the Australian Government’s National Electric Vehicle Strategy, the group are asking it to include these sensible measures:

  • Fuel efficiency standards consistent with the USA, NZ and EU
  • A collaborative EV industry development plan to boost investment in EV manufacturing, products and services
  • A co-ordinated rollout of a charging network for cars, trucks and buses – with a focus on the regions, the suburbs, and high-density buildings
  • Supporting more electric buses, trucks and other commercial vehicles for Australian businesses
  • Economic modelling that factors in the many benefits of EVs including less pollution, improved public health, better fuel security, and manufacturing opportunities
  • A goal to have 1 million EVs on Australian roads by 2027

“These measures are reasonable & achievable today. So let’s move forward together,” Mr Jafari said.

HVIA has also provided a detailed response to the Government’s National Electric Vehicle Strategy discussion paper in consultation with HVIA members.

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