Australian (ASX) Stock Market Forum

Electric cars?

Would you buy an electric car?

  • Already own one

    Votes: 10 5.1%

  • Yes - would definitely buy

    Votes: 43 21.8%

  • Yes - preferred over petrol car if price/power/convenience similar

    Votes: 78 39.6%

  • Maybe - preference for neither, only concerned with costs etc

    Votes: 37 18.8%

  • No - prefer petrol car even if electric car has same price, power and convenience

    Votes: 25 12.7%

  • No - would never buy one

    Votes: 14 7.1%
  • Total voters
    197
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More on the W.A announcement.
www.abc.net.au

Electric vehicle tax to be introduced as WA government unveils 'clean energy car fund'

The McGowan Labor government will allocate $60 million in the state budget to accelerate the use of zero emission vehicles, which will include rebates for electric vehicle purchases, but there's a catch.
www.abc.net.au www.abc.net.au
From the article:
The McGowan Government's state budget, to be handed down on Thursday, will include $60 million to accelerate the use of zero-emission vehicles.

This includes $36.5 million for $3,500 rebates for the first 10,000 people who buy an electric vehicle with a price tag of less than $70,000.
There will also be $22.6 million allocated in the budget to expand WA's electric vehicle charging network.

The government will pay for half the cost of a charging station installed by a local government, small-to-medium-sized business, or a not-for-profit organisation on their premises.
The Premier also promised to extend the network of charging stations in regional areas to encourage people to drive their electric vehicles out of the city and around the state.

More than $2.9 million will be spent on eight new charging stations on a section of Australia's Highway 1 between Norseman and Eucla.

"Unfortunately, we have to fund the roads, we have to put money into maintenance, and we have to have a funding source for that," Premier Mark McGowan said.

The tax has been set at 2.5 cents per kilometre for electric and hydrogen vehicles and 2 cents per kilometre for plug-in hybrid vehicles. The rate will rise with inflation.
Noah Schultz-Byard, SA director at The Australia Institute, said it was "a backward and unnecessary step" especially given the fuel excise is levied by the Commonwealth and that it goes into general revenue, which is not specifically used for road funding.
 

"The biggest hindrance to the growth of the EV market overall in Australia is the lack of charging stations and it is a classic catch-22 rule."​

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Australian Electric Vehicle (EV) Charging Points Report 2022 – Do We Have Enough?​


EVs in Australia vs the rest of the world

In 2022, the hype of electric vehicles (EVs) continues to grow in Australia and the world over. They are considered the future of transport and will help achieve aggressive net-zero targets set by many countries at COP26, last year in Glasgow.

In 2020, EV sales increased in Australia to 0.78%, but we are lagging way behind the rest of the world, with an average of 4.2%. Norway is the leader with almost 75% of new vehicle sales being electric ones, followed by Iceland (45%).

The Australian Government’s stance on EVs

The Australian Government has now embraced EVs, and is enabling their future use by the release of their Low Emissions Technology Statement 2021, where they specified ‘Enabling Infrastructure’ as a key category. Their plan is to invest in infrastructure that will allow the widespread delivery of low emission energy to the commercial and residential sectors. One of the two key priorities launched at COP26 in Glasgow, Scotland was to include more battery charging stations for EVs to ‘support consumer choice.’

This is a turnaround after Prime Minister Scott Morrison famously said in 2019 that an EV would not be going to ‘… tow your boat. It’s not going to get you out to your favourite camping spot with your family.”

The ‘Future Fuels Fund’ was part of the 2020-2021 Federal Budget which aims to ‘address barriers to the roll-out of new vehicle technologies’. It is managed through the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA). Its plan is to develop $500 million of charging infrastructure by co-investing with the private sector. A new round of funding will be announced in early 2022.

Despite the overall criticisms of the government’s net-zero target shortcomings by 2050, most Australian states and territories have their own aggressive targets.

Your fear vs reality: What’s the evidence?

A 2021 Savvy survey found 17% of respondents were most concerned about charging station availability when making an EV purchase. This proves that the accessibility of charging points could be a large restraint to EV market growth in Australia.

To cover the whole 7.692 million square kilometres we have in Australia, the Electric Vehicle Council in their State of Electric Vehicles 2021 report estimated there are over 3,000 public chargers in Australia with 470 supercharging ones. As for Tesla, there are currently around 40 destination chargers, Australia wide.

These figures above aren’t huge, for the potential growth in EVs popularity. By the end of 2022, it is estimated that there will be 58 EV models for sale on the Australian market, a rise of 53% from 31 models in 2021.

The biggest hindrance to the growth of the EV market overall in Australia is the lack of charging stations and it is a classic catch-22 rule. We can’t have more EVs on the road until we have more charging stations and we can’t have more charging stations unless we have more EVs. Therefore, we are reliant on government policies and funding and the growth that private providers can foresee and are therefore willing to invest upon, to fix the problem.
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www.savvy.com.au

Australian Electric Vehicle (EV) Charging Points Report 2022 – Do We Have Enough?

Read Savvy's article on the state of electric vehicle (EV) charging points in Australia and find out if we have enough for the demand.
www.savvy.com.au www.savvy.com.au
 
JohnDe said:
About time. A good mate works at Subaru and I've been asking him over a couple of years about Subaru's EV future, they have been dragged to the party.
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I think these EVs are made in China under joint venture arrangements with GAC and/or FAW, and are a rebadged Toyota bZ4X with some changes.
Hard to see them priced below AU$65k so they need to be better than Teslas, which is a bit of a stretch imho.
I did read that they sold out in USA within 3 days, and presently are experiencing delays as a result of China's covid policies and lockdowns, although they are also blaming chip shortages.
Either way, another entrant will be good to see, even if its a year away.
 
As good as VW are as automakers, I doubt this is going to happen:
"VW revealed stepped up ambitions on Thursday to become the world’s biggest EV maker in just three years’ time, overtaking Tesla"​
Tesla has been pro-active in securing their necessary supply chains over recent years and still cannot meet demand. Even Tesla's Cybertruck production has been delayed to late 2023 - deliveries in 2024 - with new orders slated for 2027!
VW will be severely hampered by having relatively limited EV production to date, and needing to massively transition existing ICE plants to NEVs.
While BYD managed their transition to NEVs in what appeared to be 12 months, in reality it took several years just to get their new production lines in place. It also appears their hybrids will provide a platform for their ICEV parts and warranty repairs, which is a smart move. On the other hand Tesla is unencumbered by legacy ICE issues, so can devote massive expenditure into R&D which ensures it remains the BEV leader in almost every aspect of performance and production.
 
JohnDe said:

"The biggest hindrance to the growth of the EV market overall in Australia is the lack of charging stations and it is a classic catch-22 rule."​

​




www.savvy.com.au

Australian Electric Vehicle (EV) Charging Points Report 2022 – Do We Have Enough?

Read Savvy's article on the state of electric vehicle (EV) charging points in Australia and find out if we have enough for the demand.
www.savvy.com.au www.savvy.com.au
Click to expand...
Cadogan has his say on that issue:



For me EVs don't make much sense at all *at this stage*.... As much as I love my new EG (electric generator that I posted about elsewhere)
 
wayneL said:
Cadogan has his say on that issue:


For me EVs don't make much sense at all *at this stage*.... As much as I love my new EG (electric generator that I posted about elsewhere)
Click to expand...
He is spot on with regard the wear and tear causing a problem with engaging the charge cable plug and the car.
I took an Ionic 5 for a 300klm round trip a couple of weeks ago, had exactly the same problem, plug the car in it locks in position, but the car says plug not fitted correctly.
As I've said it probably isn't an issue on the East Coast where there are heaps of chargers, over here in W.A it is hopeless.
The problem with PHEV's is the State Govt's are going to kill them, not only will you pay for fuel, you will pay 2c per klm for having a small battery in the car. The other problem with PHEV's is if you buy one with a decent battery/EV range, they cost about the same as a pure E.V.
So the problem still goes back to making E.V charging better and more readily available IMO.
It was quite a good video, I find his are a bit hit and miss, but I thought this was pretty well on the money.
 
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Over the last couple of weeks I have seen quite a couple of trucks out and about, they appear to be renewing the white line road markings, one was in Mandurah, the other on the Forrest Highway, I wonder if it is a coincidence or that autonomous driving development is moving on and they require very well defined road markings?
Just a thought.

www.drive.com.au

EXCLUSIVE: Autonomous car of the future quietly tested on Australian roads

Your car of tomorrow may be able to drive itself, thanks – in part – to technology developed by Mercedes-Benz on public Australian roads.
www.drive.com.au www.drive.com.au

A spokesperson for Mercedes-Benz confirmed it is using the vehicle for a range of international trials, in cooperation with US software firm Nvidia.
“The specific car you have provided photos of is part of a worldwide fleet of data collection vehicles currently testing our next generation [tech],” the spokesperson said.
“Automated driving systems, such as those offered in our driving assistance package, must be able to handle a large number of situations reliably and safely.
“The development of such systems is complex … With such test drives, the local information about infrastructure and traffic habits is collected.
“Country-specific peculiarities in infrastructure, traffic rules and the behaviour of other road users place very different demands on the sensors and algorithms of the vehicle.”
The standard Mercedes-Benz S-Class already features some of the most advanced driving tech available today, and is able to steer, accelerate, and brake by itself using inbuilt sensors.
With the addition of least 12 extra lidar and radar sensors, this suggests the modified vehicle is likely trialing advanced systems and near-complete autonomy.
Drive understands the car is not currently permitted to drive unoccupied on public roads, and a qualified engineer remains behind the wheel at all times.
It’s currently unclear how many other cars Mercedes-Benz is currently testing Down Under, however the brand says it currently has 175 research vehicles stationed across the globe.
 
sptrawler said:
Over the last couple of weeks I have seen quite a couple of trucks out and about, they appear to be renewing the white line road markings, one was in Mandurah, the other on the Forrest Highway, I wonder if it is a coincidence or that autonomous driving development is moving on and they require very well defined road markings?
Just a thought.

www.drive.com.au

EXCLUSIVE: Autonomous car of the future quietly tested on Australian roads

Your car of tomorrow may be able to drive itself, thanks – in part – to technology developed by Mercedes-Benz on public Australian roads.
www.drive.com.au www.drive.com.au

A spokesperson for Mercedes-Benz confirmed it is using the vehicle for a range of international trials, in cooperation with US software firm Nvidia.
“The specific car you have provided photos of is part of a worldwide fleet of data collection vehicles currently testing our next generation [tech],” the spokesperson said.
“Automated driving systems, such as those offered in our driving assistance package, must be able to handle a large number of situations reliably and safely.
“The development of such systems is complex … With such test drives, the local information about infrastructure and traffic habits is collected.
“Country-specific peculiarities in infrastructure, traffic rules and the behaviour of other road users place very different demands on the sensors and algorithms of the vehicle.”
The standard Mercedes-Benz S-Class already features some of the most advanced driving tech available today, and is able to steer, accelerate, and brake by itself using inbuilt sensors.
With the addition of least 12 extra lidar and radar sensors, this suggests the modified vehicle is likely trialing advanced systems and near-complete autonomy.
Drive understands the car is not currently permitted to drive unoccupied on public roads, and a qualified engineer remains behind the wheel at all times.
It’s currently unclear how many other cars Mercedes-Benz is currently testing Down Under, however the brand says it currently has 175 research vehicles stationed across the globe.
Click to expand...
The Tesla definitely defects road markings, it even animates markings like bicycle lanes on the screen as you drive past them, but it is also quite capable of detecting the edge of the road and identifying the centre if when no lines are marked.

But yeah as you drive it animates all the varies types of lines, eg single lines, double lines, dotted lines, etc etc. it even detects those white posts with the red reflector and witches hats etc.

The other day I stopped outside a school and the screen showed an animation of a lollipop man I front of my car holding a stop sign.

But obviously the better marked the roads are the better for every one humans and autopilots alike.
 
Value Collector said:
The Tesla definitely defects road markings, it even animates markings like bicycle lanes on the screen as you drive past them, but it is also quite capable of detecting the edge of the road and identifying the centre if when no lines are marked.

But yeah as you drive it animates all the varies types of lines, eg single lines, double lines, dotted lines, etc etc. it even detects those white posts with the red reflector and witches hats etc.

The other day I stopped outside a school and the screen showed an animation of a lollipop man I front of my car holding a stop sign.

But obviously the better marked the roads are the better for every one humans and autopilots alike.
Click to expand...
Found this video showing a Tesla driving autopilot with no lane markings.

 
sptrawler said:
Over the last couple of weeks I have seen quite a couple of trucks out and about, they appear to be renewing the white line road markings, one was in Mandurah, the other on the Forrest Highway, I wonder if it is a coincidence or that autonomous driving development is moving on and they require very well defined road markings?
Just a thought.

www.drive.com.au

EXCLUSIVE: Autonomous car of the future quietly tested on Australian roads

Your car of tomorrow may be able to drive itself, thanks – in part – to technology developed by Mercedes-Benz on public Australian roads.
www.drive.com.au www.drive.com.au

A spokesperson for Mercedes-Benz confirmed it is using the vehicle for a range of international trials, in cooperation with US software firm Nvidia.
“The specific car you have provided photos of is part of a worldwide fleet of data collection vehicles currently testing our next generation [tech],” the spokesperson said.
“Automated driving systems, such as those offered in our driving assistance package, must be able to handle a large number of situations reliably and safely.
“The development of such systems is complex … With such test drives, the local information about infrastructure and traffic habits is collected.
“Country-specific peculiarities in infrastructure, traffic rules and the behaviour of other road users place very different demands on the sensors and algorithms of the vehicle.”
The standard Mercedes-Benz S-Class already features some of the most advanced driving tech available today, and is able to steer, accelerate, and brake by itself using inbuilt sensors.
With the addition of least 12 extra lidar and radar sensors, this suggests the modified vehicle is likely trialing advanced systems and near-complete autonomy.
Drive understands the car is not currently permitted to drive unoccupied on public roads, and a qualified engineer remains behind the wheel at all times.
It’s currently unclear how many other cars Mercedes-Benz is currently testing Down Under, however the brand says it currently has 175 research vehicles stationed across the globe.
Click to expand...
Not sure I want to be on the same road as these things... mind you, they couldn't be any worse than Perth drivers. :D
 
JohnDe said:
I think that every time I check my rear vision mirror for old cars, when I'm stopping faster than usual because of a traffic incident in front.
Click to expand...

This is something that the bogans in HR Holdens don't seem to be able to understand, the closer you get, the more I back off the car in front of me
 
Les autorités de Columbus, dans l'Ohio, ont publié des images montrant le moment où une Tesla a foncé dans le centre de convention Greater Columbus le 4 mai dernier. Selon la police, le conducteur de la Telsa Model S de 2020 a déclaré avoir perdu le contrôle de ses freins, maintenant une vitesse de 110 km/h lorsque la voiture s'est écrasée. https://video.lefigaro.fr/figaro/vi...ande-vitesse-dans-un-batiment-aux-etats-unis/
Translation : tesla 0 building 1
Brakes have failed it seems...
 
Interesting, I wonder what has caused the brakes to be applied, battery material cost?
www.drive.com.au

Tesla Cybertruck pulled from sale in Australia, thousands of customers owed refunds

The controversially-styled Tesla Cybertruck electric pick-up is no longer available to order on Tesla Australia's website. What happens now to the customers who paid a $150 refundable deposit?
www.drive.com.au www.drive.com.au
Electric-car giant Tesla has slammed the brakes on the sharply-styled Cybertruck for Australian customers.
Overnight, the Tesla Australia website stopped accepting $150 deposits for customers to place orders – and instead replaced the tab with a message that says "Get Updates" (see screenshot below).
As exclusively reported by Australian-based electric-car website The Driven: "The Tesla Cybertruck can no longer be reserved in Australia, after Tesla shut off reservations for the Cybertruck for markets outside North America."
The sudden shutdown of the Tesla Cybertruck's online ordering portal in Australia comes after repeated speculation the Cybertruck may be deemed too big for Australia – and follows reports there may not be a right-hand-drive version.
Tesla boss Elon Musk has also previously hinted the company might produce a slightly smaller pick-up for global markets such as Australia.
 
Who wants a new old mini?

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Another Western automotive icon has fallen prey to China’s notoriously inventive electric car companies. After the Chevrolet Corvette and the Volkswagen Beetle it is now the classic Mini, a British city car produced by BMC and its successors from 1959 until 2000. The new Chinese EV version is a pretty good clone, with all sorts of trendy retro bits. The proportions seem spot on, and it has classy chromed bumpers, mirrors, and windshield wipers.​
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1652921781441.png​
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Even the antenna has some old-school vibe to it, and the alloy wheels look like they time-traveled from the 1960’s to today. But there are some differences too, most notably the battery pack under the floor of the vehicle. The body is a bit more smooth and streamlined than the original, especially at the front. Electrifying the Mini as a 2022 city car seems such a great idea. One may wonder why current owner BMW didn’t think of this themselves.​
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Well, they kind of did. Soon, production of an electric Mini for the Chinese car market is set to start at the new GWM-Mini joint venture. But that is a much bigger car, a Mini in name only. Interestingly, GWM is also the owner of the ORA brand, which produces the cloned Beetles.​
 
volvo has cancelled all orders (including mine) for the XC40 recharge.
The driven.io
Volvo has been forced to cancel scores of Australian orders for its popular pure-electric XC40 Recharge SUVs, as global supply constraints take their toll on production and deliveries.
Volvo blamed the global semi-conductor shortage and the lingering impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic for the decision to cancel 166 Australian orders.
It’s the latest in a string of roadblocks for the auto industry, and for Australia which finds itself at the end of the global queue for hard to obtain EVs, thanks to its lack of policies – in particular the absence of strict vehicle emission standards.
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not a happy chappy after doing a lot of research and talking to EV owners.
I still fail to see why they keep pushing the idea that a lack of emissions standards is why we dont get more EV,s.
Is it so that as the ICE engines become uncompetitive, it allows the EV to be able to increase prices?
mick
 
mullokintyre said:
volvo has cancelled all orders (including mine) for the XC40 recharge.
The driven.io

not a happy chappy after doing a lot of research and talking to EV owners.
I still fail to see why they keep pushing the idea that a lack of emissions standards is why we dont get more EV,s.
Is it so that as the ICE engines become uncompetitive, it allows the EV to be able to increase prices?
mick
Click to expand...

More proof that we don’t need MPs & vehicle manufacturers pumping false talk about Australia needing tax cuts to get EVs here. There is a world shortage.

Use those promises of tax cuts to instead fund infrastructure.
 
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