For years, Australia has been a pariah among advanced economies – with the exception of Russia – for its lack of an efficiency standard, prompting claims from climate advocates that car manufacturers have been treating the country as a dumping ground for dirtier, more costly to run cars.
Critics claimed this is because they faced no penalty for doing so, nor did they have incentive to send their electric, hybrid and most efficient petrol models here.
The data appears to back this up. A new car sold in Australia uses, on average, 6.9 litres of fuel for each 100km compared with new cars in Europe and the US that use 3.5 litres and 4.2 litres, respectively, according to analysis from the Climate Council.
Though primarily a climate measure, the government had sought to centre the cost-of-living benefits of the NVES in the debate as much as it could – something which had at times struggled to cut through loud claims from the opposition, manufacturers – including Toyota – and the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries (FCAI).
They had claimed that the standard, as initially proposed, would see the cost of Australia’s most popular cars – gas-guzzling SUVs – spike, and could spell the end of the ute.
The debate proved heated as the responses to the proposed standard became clear. Tesla and fellow electric carmaker Polestar sensationally quit the FCAI, claiming it was not representing them, as the body raised concerns the rules could increase the price of popular utes by up to $13,000.
Those tensions appear to still be raw.
At Tuesday’s unveiling of the updated standard, transport minister Catherine King and energy minister Chris Bowen were joined by bosses from Toyota, Hyundai, Tesla and the Electric Vehicle Council, among other climate and industry leaders. The FCAI’s absence was notable.
In getting Toyota – the nation’s biggest selling brand – on board, King was able to herald the predicted $95bn in bowser savings the updated deal is predicted to deliver Australians by 2050, without a warning of a hit to consumers.
Toyota’s CEO, Matthew Callachor, turned down the opportunity to call the standard a “car tax”, despite the government’s concessions falling well short of the tweaks Toyota had called for, but he did say affordability of some vehicles in light of the standard “remains a significant challenge”.
