Electric vehicle incentives in Australia compared to rest of the world

[Xwing]

Hey guys, I've put down a reservation on a Model X a month or so ago and now the official long wait begins.

In the meantime I'm trying to get my head around what incentives are available here for electric vehicles compared to the rest to the world. I'm not sure if this discussion has already happened elsewhere but I'd love to get my head around it. Seems to me that in regards to purely electric vehicles a LCT doesn't make a lot of sense and I know there is a reduction on it but it still seems like a very large tax. When did the reduction begin and anyone know how that came about?

 

[WhiteStar]

Great question! There are almost no EV incentives in Australia. The LCT ‘reduction’ for fuel-efficient vehicles (7 litres/100 km or better) was a concession by the Rudd government in 2008 after increasing it from 8% to 33% for all other vehicles. Except that the so-called reduction was an increase in the threshold from currently around $63k for regular vehicles to $75k for fuel-efficient vehicles, ruling out every Model S.


Compare that to any other advanced economy: Government incentives for plug-in electric vehicles - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


I think it is time for the PM to walk the walk…buying a Tesla isn’t enough. Clearly there needs to be a range of incentives like in Norway, California & elsewhere.

 

[LGGD]

Great question! There are almost no EV incentives in Australia. The LCT ‘reduction’ for fuel-efficient vehicles (7 litres/100 km or better) was a concession by the Rudd government in 2008 after increasing it from 8% to 33% for all other vehicles. Except that the so-called reduction was an increase in the threshold from currently around $63k for regular vehicles to $75k for fuel-efficient vehicles, ruling out every Model S.


Compare that to any other advanced economy: Government incentives for plug-in electric vehicles - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


I think it is time for the PM to walk the walk…buying a Tesla isn’t enough. Clearly there needs to be a range of incentives like in Norway, California & elsewhere.

Tesla is not 'ruled out', we get the benefit of the higher threshold. We pay approximately $4,000 less LCT than a car that does not qualify for the higher threshold.

In the ACT there is no stamp duty for an EV and in Queensland an EV qualifies for the lowest stamp duty percentage - 2%. Compared to 3% to 4% for all pure ICEs. (Amount varies based on engine type). This saves around $4000 compared to a same priced V8.

So, in Queensland, a Tesla is going to be on the road for $8,000 less than a same priced V8.

Maybe the other states need to get their acts together and at least do something, the way Queensland already has.

 

[WhiteStar]

Tesla is not 'ruled out', we get the benefit of the higher threshold. We pay approximately $4,000 less LCT than a car that does not qualify for the higher threshold.

In the ACT there is no stamp duty for an EV and in Queensland an EV qualifies for the lowest stamp duty percentage - 2%. Compared to 3% to 4% for all pure ICEs. (Amount varies based on engine type). This saves around $4000 compared to a same priced V8.

So, in Queensland, a Tesla is going to be on the road for $8,000 less than a same priced V8.

Maybe the other states need to get their acts together and at least do something, the way Queensland already has.

Of course you are right, ruled out is incorrect...I was not thinking clearly! Still these are very small incentives in comparison to other comparable OECD nations not to mention others that are neither OECD or comparable.

 

[Xwing]

Thanks for the replies. It's good just to have a bit of clarity on where things are at. With the popularity of EV's starting to move it could be a good time to push hard for some changes and get the word out. The sliding AU$ has certainly talen a major incentive away so seems reasonable to find other ways to make the vehicles more attractive.

 

[Xwing]

In Australia, the Federal Government offers no direct incentives for electric vehicle ownership and imposes a substantial financial disincentiveby way of a Federal Luxury Car Tax that is applied on new vehicles valued over a certain threshold (in 2014–15, this was A$61,884). The application threshold for this tax is increased to A$75,375 for fuel efficient vehicles

Seems to me that Australia is one of the few countries to not offer any real incentives to purchase an EV. There are some really great incentives out there in other countries and when you look at the EV take up the incentives appear to be doing their job. Surely with a PM who is all about looking for bold approaches to solving the big issues such as the impending environmental crisis using agile solutions there must be some hope of catching us up to the rest of the world.

 

[Dborn]

Time for a letter writing campaign.

 

[paulp]

Time for a letter writing campaign.

Convincing the government to reduce tax? They're hooked on tax, like a bad drug.
take import duty on cars. The last australian car is soon to be built, so all cars will be imported. The import protection is no longer required.....any talk of removing the obsolete tax?

 

[gizmonty]

Convincing the government to reduce tax? They're hooked on tax, like a bad drug.
take import duty on cars. The last australian car is soon to be built, so all cars will be imported. The import protection is no longer required.....any talk of removing the obsolete tax?

Well you'll be happy to know that import duty is one of the few taxes you won't have to pay on a Tesla. Thanks to the US-Aus FTA there is no import duty on cars brought in from the US. Doesn't really make up for all the other taxes though.

 

[Aussie Yank]

One thing to remember when comparing prices in Oz with other countries, like the USA. California adds about 10%+ to the price listed on the Tesla site, while Oz includes 10% GST...same same. The tesla site in the California, does INCLUDE the tax incentives, as does Oz

 

[paulp]

Well you'll be happy to know that import duty is one of the few taxes you won't have to pay on a Tesla. Thanks to the US-Aus FTA there is no import duty on cars brought in from the US. Doesn't really make up for all the other taxes though.

Didn't know that. Now all we need is a similar FTA with all other car manufacturing countries.

 

[green1]

You apparently got a better FTA than we got in Canada. The Tesla isn't "American enough" to qualify for our FTA because of the batteries which aren't (yet) American.

 

[Xwing]

Time for a letter writing campaign.

It would be a good start and couldn't hurt! There's at least $30k to be saved on a mid range MX or MS just by reducing the stamp and LCT without even offering a direct monetary incentive like in the US. The more teslas sold here the more likely it is that Tesla will invest in Superchargers sooner rather than later. There's still a long wait before the model 3 gets here and no more affordable options other than Tesla for full EV without crazy range issues.
So who do we write to?

 

[meloccom]

It would be a good start and couldn't hurt! There's at least $30k to be saved on a mid range MX or MS just by reducing the stamp and LCT without even offering a direct monetary incentive like in the US. The more teslas sold here the more likely it is that Tesla will invest in Superchargers sooner rather than later. There's still a long wait before the model 3 gets here and no more affordable options other than Tesla for full EV without crazy range issues.
So who do we write to?

Write to your the Federal Member or Senator for your electorate. Federal Senators_and_Members

 

[gizmonty]

I have wondered whether Tesla shouldn't get the US embassy to make an approach to the Australian government regarding LCT on Tesla vehicles. It seems to be against the spirit of the FTA. When the US says jump Australian politicians usually say 'How High?'.

 

[Xwing]

Write to your the Federal Member or Senator for your electorate. Federal Senators_and_Members

Ok. I'm going to start pestering.

 

[Dborn]

After Paris, and the direct action model, there is at least some ammo. Also, it is an election year.

 

[Damo11]

I'm not sure guys. I get it that the U.S has incentives as the EV industry is a large, growing employer that replaces sunset industries. But that is not the case here.

What you are asking for are incentives to make the cars cheaper - but what I like is that you and I bought our cars simply because they are better than ICE alternatives. If our (extremely expensive) Telsas are subsidised by the public purse it creates anger that all wage earners are part-paying for our fairly extravagant choices - and that is the opposite of what we want to achieve. Even worse though, no product can survive if it relies on government help like the Aust car industry does (or did....).

It would be cool if they made the Commodore with Tesla dual motors, 0-100 in sub 4 secs for say $80k and subsidise the cost to keep the jobs. But until then I think that the fact that Tesla has not required govt help to get a foothold in Aus is something to celebrate.

 

[Blue heaven]

I'm not sure guys. I get it that the U.S has incentives as the EV industry is a large, growing employer that replaces sunset industries. But that is not the case here.

What you are asking for are incentives to make the cars cheaper - but what I like is that you and I bought our cars simply because they are better than ICE alternatives. If our (extremely expensive) Telsas are subsidised by the public purse it creates anger that all wage earners are part-paying for our fairly extravagant choices - and that is the opposite of what we want to achieve. Even worse though, no product can survive if it relies on government help like the Aust car industry does (or did....).

It would be cool if they made the Commodore with Tesla dual motors, 0-100 in sub 4 secs for say $80k and subsidise the cost to keep the jobs. But until then I think that the fact that Tesla has not required govt help to get a foothold in Aus is something to celebrate.

100% agreement from me Damo11.

 

[Mark E]

I'm not sure guys. I get it that the U.S has incentives as the EV industry is a large, growing employer that replaces sunset industries. But that is not the case here.

What you are asking for are incentives to make the cars cheaper - but what I like is that you and I bought our cars simply because they are better than ICE alternatives. If our (extremely expensive) Telsas are subsidised by the public purse it creates anger that all wage earners are part-paying for our fairly extravagant choices - and that is the opposite of what we want to achieve. Even worse though, no product can survive if it relies on government help like the Aust car industry does (or did....).

It would be cool if they made the Commodore with Tesla dual motors, 0-100 in sub 4 secs for say $80k and subsidise the cost to keep the jobs. But until then I think that the fact that Tesla has not required govt help to get a foothold in Aus is something to celebrate.

Removing or raising the LCT threshold for EVs is not a subsidy. In fact if you want equality then the threshold should be $100k plus for EVs to be the same as a 'fuel efficient' ICE. If used for business the ICE also gets to claim fuel usage as a deduction. We effectively pay for our fuel in advance in the purchase price and get taxed 33% plus GST plus stamp duty for the privilege and are not allowed to claim or depreciate the full cost.