New South Wales is reportedly considering scrapping its electric vehicle (EV) rebate program. Recently, Labor Premier Chris Minns suggested that the program might be on the chopping block due to shifting budget priorities and financial constraints.
The EV rebate program, launched in 2021 has provided financial incentives to individuals and businesses purchasing electric vehicles.
These incentives aimed to offset the higher upfront costs associated with electric vehicles and promote the transition to cleaner transportation alternatives. Under the program, buyers of new electric vehicles could receive rebates of $3000 for the first 25,000 EVs sold for under $68,750.
“We’ve got a subsidy in place that we think is pushing up the costs of EVs and we’re seeing EVs take up from about two percent to eight percent in the marketplace,” Mr. Minns said.
“Given all of those moving policy changes, we’re going to have to say something about it in the… budget, which is due in a month’s time, but any government faced with that set of policy circumstances would have to take it into consideration.”
Pushback from Industry
Industry leaders have expressed their concern regarding this potential move. Electric Vehicle Council Chief Executive Behyad Jafari said this could cause uncertainty for potential EV buyers.
“The mix of state and federal rebates have had a sizeable impact in our market and are finally putting us on track towards being able to achieve emission-reduction targets and they’ve come at a time when petrol prices have gone over $2 a litre,” Mr Jafari said.
“This is the single most effective way of addressing the cost of living – by helping people avoid $2400 a year in fuel costs.”
In June 2023, Victoria was the first State to scrap its EV rebate program.
