AGL Energy has committed to buying 36 Mitsubishi plug-in vehicles as it works towards a goal of electrifying 10% of its car fleet.
Now it’s challenging others to do better.
The commitment by the utility comes as an Electric Vehicle Council will be launched in Canberra today to inform policymaking on EV uptake, the Financial Review reports.
The council is bringing together car makers, energy and infrastructure players as well as consumer groups.
Sales of electric cars represent only 0.1% of new vehicle sales in Australia, which is lagging well behind other similar markets overseas, EV Council member ClimateWorks Australia’s implementation head Scott Ferraro says.
Federal energy minister Josh Frydenberg will announce a $390,000 grant from the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) to support the uptake of EVs.
He notes the EV uptake rate in Australia is projected to increase to 0.3% by 2020 and 15% by 2030 as EVs become more price competitive.
“This would result in more than 12,000 electric vehicles registered in Australia by 2020, and around 1 million by 2030,” he says.
AGL chief executive Andy Vesey calls for governments and other companies to match or beat AGL’s EV commitment.
“If other Australian fleet operators, including government, adopted a 10% target it would result in more than 43,000 EV sales per year and reduce up to 85,000 tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions annually,” Vesey says.
AGL will offer a leasing package to its employees, including the Mitsubishi Outlander plug-in car, the AGL “electric car plan” and home charging.
The utility introduced a “dollar a day” unlimited EV home charging plan last November. It pledged that all electricity supplied under the offer would be fully “carbon offset”, so AGL would plant trees or invest in other carbon offsets to match the carbon dioxide emissions.
EV Council chairman Behyad Jafari says the market for EVs offers significant opportunities to deliver investment, innovation and environmental sustainability.
Globally, almost one million EVs are expected to be sold within the next year, with more than $50 billion invested in the industry over the past 10 years, he says.
Council members include Audi, BMW, Hyundai, Mitsubishi and several other automakers.
