The Australian Automotive Dealer Association has called on the Government to renovate its New Vehicle Efficiency Standard proposal or risk higher vehicle prices and lack of consumer choice.
The AADA Submission has highlighted the current proposal’s limitations and suggested policy changes.
It urges the Government to consider the recommendations it has put forward, including adding SUVs and four-wheel drives to the Light Commercial Vehicle Category, allowing the expanded Light Commercial Vehicle category seven years to meet their target, reducing the proposed penalties in the early years of the scheme, and developing a series of incentives to stimulate consumer demand for low emissions vehicles.
“Dealers are 100% supportive of a fuel efficiency standard in Australia, but the policy in its current form will do more harm than good,” AADA chief executive James Voortman says.
“This policy goes too far too fast, and it’s almost certain Australians will pay more for new cars and lose access to Utes and SUVs.
“Less than one in three of the more than 2000 vehicle variants for sale in Australia today would meet the initial target proposed to start in less than ten months. The cars most likely to experience a price hike or be removed from the Australian market are the Utes and SUVs that Australian families and businesses purchase.”
“This policy comes close to a de facto ban on petrol and diesel vehicles. While EVs are the future, most customers are still concerned about the cost of the cars, the lack of charging infrastructure and the absence of affordable EV Utes and large SUVs.
“No other industry has been asked to reduce its emissions by 60% in only five years. I can see car brands unable to comply with this policy departing Australia, leaving their customers and Dealers high and dry. We have seen this before with the likes of Holden and other brands.
“The worst thing we can do for vehicle emissions is to discourage new car sales. The age of our vehicle fleet has been growing over several years, and there is a major risk that consumers hold onto their older cars for longer at the expense of the environment,” he says.
