Lacking chargers and mechanics: Australia's slow EV uptake a headache for consumers
Sydney resident Uma Pillai has tried to reduce her impact on the environment wherever she can. Recycling and eating less meat were both objectives that could be accomplished relatively easily, but her long-term goal, saving up for an electric vehicle, took a few years.
Although Pillai is satisfied with her choice of personal transport, a Nissan Leaf, she still thinks Australia could probably improve on adding much-needed infrastructure for electric vehicles (EVs), such as an ample number of public charging stations.
"You can feel there are, there's so much more uptake. I think it's the general public that needs to change its attitude, there are a lot of people who are wary of EVs," said Pillai as she cruised through the Sydney streets in her electric car.
Although Australian electric vehicle owners can charge at home, travelling can sometimes prove to be a headache, as drivers like businesswoman Palak Bhatt said they have to pick destinations based on the availability of chargers.
“So if we want to take the car we have to pick locations where we can charge along the way, even where we stay… you can't just go 'This looks lovely, we'll stay there, does it have a charger,' because we're going to have to charge the car,” said Bhatt, who owns a Tesla Model S.
The International Energy Agency (IEA) estimates Australia has 35 electric vehicles per charging point, versus the world average of 10, while world leader China has eight.
The government has recently stepped in to try to address the issue.
Out of a A$500 million ($331.15 million) fund for clean transport, $70 million were allocated for public charging. Australia will also stump up A$39 million towards a national network of 117 fast-charging sites on major highways.
The parliament also introduced new standards targeting vehicle emissions in April, aiming to boost the uptake of electric vehicles.
In Australia, just 3.8% of cars sold in 2022 were electric, well behind other developed economies such as Britain and Europe where electric cars made up 15% and 17% of sales, respectively, government data showed.
Car salesman at Sydney City Traders, Abdul Zahra said that his dealership sells around three to four electric vehicles per month, in comparison to more than 13 combustion engine vehicles. Despite the slow business, his dealership continues to sell electric vehicles.
“There are several reasons why (people aren’t buying EVs), you know, lack of charging stations, prices of the vehicles. We need a bit more incentive from the government to push people towards electric vehicles,” he said.
In addition to a lack of charging stations, the industry is also plagued by shortages of trained mechanics and spare parts.
To keep up with demand, the country’s most populous state of New South Wales needs to train about 50,000 licensed mechanics and technicians to work on electric vehicles, said Collin Jennings, Head of Government Relations and Advocacy at Motor Transport Association (MTA) of New South Wales. The MTA is upskilling technicians to work on electric vehicles and has invested A$1 million ($677,000) in such efforts, but the process is slow, said Jennings.
“At the moment there just isn't the training available so we're leading the way in training technicians, we've only got our classroom here, we can take about six to ten per class but that's a big gap between six to ten per class and the tens of thousands we need to train by 2030,” said Jennings.
According to the country's energy minister, Chris Bowen, transport is the third largest source of carbon emissions in Australia - one of the world's biggest emitters on a per capita basis. The newly enacted fuel emission standards will help cut the country's emissions by at least 3 million tonnes (3.3 million tons) of carbon by 2030, and over 10 million tonnes (11 million tons) by 2035.
Reuters
