Unlike Europe and the USA, Australia has not even begun its EV revolution. There have been few incentives to buy EVs and those that there are, are small--nothing like the roughly $7000 incentives in the US and Europe. The result has been that EVs make up a tiny percentage of car and lorry sales here in Australia.
That's about to change.
A “game-changing” all-electric van offering 300km of range for roughly the same price as an ICE equivalent will be on Australian roads within the year, after it was confirmed on Monday that the BYD T3 2021 would open for orders here in July, for delivery as soon as September.
The van, made in China by the Warren Buffett backed BYD, is being brought to Australia through a partnership between TrueGreen Mobility and Trevor St Baker’s Energy Innovation Fund (StBEIF), the owner of electric vehicle charge point operator Evie Networks (and the EV charging manufacturer Tritium).
TrueGreen, which has the exclusive distribution rights to BYD EVs in Australia through its subsidiary Nexport, said the T3 vans would go on sale next month for just under $A35,000 (excluding on-road costs) with the backing of a $20 million investment by the StBEIF.
To further support the electric van rollout, a partnership with Evie Networks would also deliver comprehensive vehicle charging infrastructure “within months,” TrueGreen said, including public and depot charging facilities.
“This is a significant step forward for e-mobility in Australia – this is the turning point,” said TrueGreen Mobility CEO Luke Todd in a statement on Monday.
“With our products, electric vehicles have now reached price parity with combustion engines, so a switch to EVs makes perfect economic, commercial, environmental and moral sense.
Todd told The Driven that the company would wait to see what demand looked like once they opened up orders next month on EVDirect.com.au, but that it was anticipated that the inital volume would be considerable, in the tens-of-thousands.
The electric vans use BYD’s new Blade battery technology, which uses more thermally stable lithium iron phosphate chemistry and arranges the battery cells in an array before insertion into the pack, resulting in a 50% improvement in use of space with a super thin, flat battery.
The T3 vans offer a 50.3kWh battery which can last for up to 300km on a full charge (280km on a full capacity), putting an end to concerns about range anxiety. The van also offers a max power of 70kW (94bhp), a max torque of 180 N.m and a top speed of 100km/h.
“Range anxiety is one of the most common concerns in the uptake of EVs, but with new charging infrastructure and these long-range vehicles, people can now get where they want to go,” said StBEIF founder and deputy chairman Trevor St Baker.
“The StBEIF is providing the charging solution with Evie Networks installing Tritium ultra-fast chargers at key transportation hubs across Australia and TrueGreen Mobility is providing affordable and reliable vehicles.
“This partnership means Australia has now reached the point of mainstream transition to zero emission vehicles,” St Baker said.
TrueGreen Mobility’s Todd said businesses in the growing eCommerce industry – particularly during times of Covid – would benefit significantly from the lower costs and more efficient transport options afforded by EV models.
[From The Driven]
The State of Victoria has introduced a perverse tax on EVs of 2.5 cents per kilometre. This is basically a revenue grab by the State government. But even with that, EVs will still be cheaper than petrol-fuelled vehicles to run. In Australia, ICE (petrol/diesel) cars cost about 14 cents per kilometre to run, EVs about 4 cents. Victoria's batty EV tax will increase the cost of running an EV to 6.5 cents/km, still half the cost of running an ICEV, For businesses, this will be a compelling story, given that the sticker-price of the new BYD van is about the same as that of its petrol equivalent. Sales should soar.
What about charging? The number of fast charging stations across the east coast has grown dramatically. And most businesses will be able to charge their vans overnight at their depots, using off-peak electricity. This will also be an incentive for businesses to put in solar, too.
I'b been expecting for a while that when China starts to export its cheap EVs, there would be a step change in sales of EVs in Australia. Truegreen is also bringing a cheap BYD EV sedan to Australia, with a drive-away price of under A$35,000. This compares with an average car cost in Australia of $40,000. If this seems expensive to Americans, remember that the A$ is worth only 70 US cents, there is an import duty of 5%, and GST (general sales tax, or value-added tax) of 10%.
The logjam is breaking. Petrol and diesel car sales have probably peaked--and remember, batteries are just going to go on getting cheaper. How long before 100% of car and light truck sales are electric?
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