Will 2020 be the year for EVs?
In a recently released report, the ABS have published stats showing electric vehicle registrations have almost doubled in the past year, with 14,253 EVs now on the road in Australia.
But with 19.5 million vehicles registered in Australia in 2019, plus the post COVID-19 economic recovery, are we still gearing up for the stellar EV year the electric vehicle community predicted in 2019?
Commentators are still seesawing between sunshine and gloom, but what's clear is that the taste of fresh air we've had while we've all been working from home, may just give the low-emission transport sector the rush of wind it needs to start sailing smoothly.
Naturally, we're still seeing internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles dominating the market, but as we head to ICE/EV price parity, we say hello to whole new range of new EVs from the traditional auto manufacturers.
In Australia, we expect to welcome eight new electric vehicle models to market in 2020, with EVs from Audi, Porsche, Volvo and Mini Cooper hitting our shores this year.
Is the fresh air just hot air?
Additionally, the views and mindset of the community is changing as understanding around the impacts that transport emissions have to human health and our planet become more apparent.
The often quoted obstacles to EV adoption - range anxiety, cost and charge times - are being hurdled as home and public EV charging hardware options are developed and EV prices start to creep downwards.
It's an often repeated anecdote that a new EV driver isn't just an owner, but an advocate for the technology as well. When one person buys an EV, their family and friends are more likely to consider buying one as their next car.
During one of our recent ICE to EV conversion webinars, our friends at Safescape, owners of the amazing Bortana EV, reported that after 30 minutes driving their ute, people were OK with the idea, but after an hour they were completely sold on electric driving.
We're quietly confident that post-COVID, the demand for low-emission transport from the Australian and New Zealand purchasing public will be strongly on the up.
What's a low-emission transport solution until we reach price parity?
If, like most of us, you're interested in EVs but don't have upwards of $70k to drop on a Tesla, have you considered a low-kilometre, well cared for, second-hand Japanese Domestic Market (JDM) EV?
The Good Car Company have just delivered their first successful JDM EV bulk buy scheme in Tasmania and will be moving into mainland Australia throughout 2020.
You can also follow the adventures of Karen and Shane at EV4ME, a couple from Canberra who are importing a 64kWh Nissan Leaf direct from Japan and tracking the process via YouTube and Twitter.
Or, you can speak to one of the JDM importers in your nearest capital city.
Also consider your ICE idling
We're really proud of this initiative, which is has been co-founded by our Business Development Manager, Emma Sutcliffe.
Called the Idle Off Project, it aims to raise awareness of the dangers of idling cars, trucks and buses to human health.
Using engaging downloadable project sheets, the Idle Off Project encourages high school students to consider the harm idling vehicles in school grounds cause to students' health; in many large cities, air pollution caused by vehicle emissions is equivalent to smoking several cigarettes per day.
If you'd like to know more about the Idle Off Project or any of the other resources mentioned here, please follow the links, like our Facebook page or get in touch.