Federal government being dragged into an electric car future.
Just a "discussion paper", will they follow it through ?
It's two years overdue and the details were leaked months ago, but the Federal Government has finally released its plans for supporting electric vehicles.
It isn't a case of will they follow through, we import cars and the world's car makers are changing over from ICE to BEV, so it is a case of we will have to transition to BEV's that's all that will be available.
What Australia doesn't want to do, is pour billions of taxpayers money, into infrastructure that becomes obsolete in 4 years time.
Investigating the best charging architectures and which equipment works the best with a smart grid, is far more important IMO, than giving taxpayer subsidies to increase uptake of BEV's when the manufacturers haven't agreed on a standard.
ATM it is like the early days of mobile phones and every phone had a different charger and charging voltage, eventually they had to standardise on micro usb, which made it all so much easier.
Currently a lot of BEV manufacturers are using different plugs, different voltages etc.
I'm sure the international auto regulatory body will demand a standard is decided on, similar to what happened with engine management and OBD2 protocol:
- 1996: The OBD-II specification is made mandatory for all cars sold in the United States.
- 2001: The European Union makes EOBD mandatory for all gasoline (petrol) vehicles sold in the European Union, starting in MY2001 (see European emission standards Directive 98/69/EC[3]).
- 2004: The European Union makes EOBD mandatory for all diesel vehicles sold in the European Union
- 2006: All vehicles manufactured in Australia and New Zealand are required to be OBD-II compliant after January 1, 2006.
Until the standards are finalised, we may well be putting in equipment that, the car manufacturers decide isn't the one they agree on.
So IMO as we don't produce cars here, to steam ahead of the game would be dumb as.
All we need ATM is basic charging infrastructure, this is being rolled out by the private sector and the States and seems like the best plan to me at this point.
Media statements
www.mediastatements.wa.gov.au
China, which is the biggest market for BEV's in the World, are probably going to be the ones who decide what charging architecture is adopted IMO.
So a wait and see approach is the best IMO, usually we adopt the look at us and try to lead the World, maybe we have outgrown our inferiority complex and are taking a more measured approach? Who knows.
The world of EVs is rapidly changing, but I’ve done some research and compiled everything I’ve learned about EV charging into this article, up-to-date for 2020. So, do all electric cars use the same ‘universal’ plugs and chargers? In short, all electric car brands in North America use the same...
From the article:
Charging Into the Future
As the electric vehicle revolution continues to roll on, it is important to remember that the technology related to charging these vehicles is always improving. That means that, in a few short years, some of the growing pains consumers currently experience will likely be addressed – from the lack of a standardized charging mechanism to the amount of time it takes to fully charge an EV battery. The return on your investment in an electric vehicle is likely to only increase in the very near future.