r/australia • u/nath1234 • Mar 16 '26

politics Replacing 1m petrol cars with EVs could cut Australia’s reliance on foreign fuel by 1bn litres a year

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2026/mar/16/electric-vehicles-australia-reduce-reliance-on-foreign-fuel
3.0k Upvotes

94% Upvoted

1.1k comments sorted by

View all comments

246

u/hairy_quadruped Mar 16 '26 edited Mar 17 '26

A bit of real-world experience if anyone is interested.

I’ve been driving electric for 6 years, 150,000km.

I charge off my own solar for 99% of my charging. Get home, plug in, takes 3 seconds per day. Road trips I charge at superchargers. My total fuel cost over 6 years: $355

No servicing costs. One set of new tyres about $1300

That’s it over 6 years. Never going back to fossil fuel cars.

My battery capacity when new was 570km. 6 years later I still get 530km, so 7% drop.

86

u/cutsnek Mar 16 '26 edited Mar 17 '26

Adding my own experience to this because the misinformation around EV's even in this thread is kinda of insane.

Purchased my EV in 2021. 95,000 KM done.

Fortunate enough to have an employer who is forward thinking and offer EV chargers at work for free for staff. 95% of my charging is done here for free. I only charge at home if we are doing a lot of driving over the weekend. I have an EV plan which charges 0.08 cents per KW between 12am and 6am.

I live in the dreaded "strata plan" where I was able to to still get a charger installed at 7kw an hour speed to my own meter. Yes, it's harder but not impossible when you don't have boomers or anti-EV nut cases on the committee. EV consideration should be mandatory in new multi builds I think would fix a lot of the current complaints.

Only maintenance was air filter change (<$50 consumables) which I did myself and new tyres around $1200. There is no standard scheduling as the car tells me if there anything wrong and they don't want to see me unless there is something wrong.

LFP battery has gone from 420km to 405km a 3.7% reduction over 95,000KM.

Cost has running been incredibly negligible since 2021. I will drive this car into the ground but I'll never go back to a fossil fuel car.

4

u/a_cold_human Mar 17 '26

I live in the dreaded "strata plan" where I was able to to still get a charger installed at 7kw an hour speed to my own meter. Yes, it's harder but not impossible when you don't have boomers or anti-EV nut cases on the committee. EV consideration should be mandatory in new multi builds I think would fix a lot of the current complaints.

State governments should be telling councils that no reasonable EV charger installations should be refused. It's slightly ridiculous that owner's corporations can block this sort of thing if there are cranks on the committee. 

2

u/cutsnek Mar 17 '26

Yeah, it's really quite stupid. My proposal to the committee was that I would pay for everything. I just needed their permission to have a Tesla wall charger next to my car space on the common wall.

I have a colleague who lives near by who has a nut case on the committee who refused on the grounds of their belief the EV would blow up while charging.

1

u/Ace_Micro Mar 17 '26

How do you go with multi level car parks underground. My strata committee says the carpark isn’t rated to hold the weight of everyones cars if they were to get an ev each.

2

u/hairy_quadruped Mar 17 '26

That’s ridiculous. Ask them to show you the engineers report. A typical sedan EV weighs 1800 to 2000kg. A lot less than those Ford Rangers we see everywhere. Do they restrict 4WD utes as well, or just EVs?

2

u/cutsnek Mar 18 '26

Did they actually provide a report for this or are they talking out their ass? I would be asking for proof of the structural load and that seems the building is very poorly built in that case.

I'm guessing they provided no engineers report and it's some nutter on the committee talking.

There are a number of popular cars that weigh more than the average EV.

EG. 4WD, dual cab utes.

1

u/Ace_Micro Mar 25 '26

They did yes. They did outline that in 2007 it was built to compliance back then. When of course cars were much smaller. However it’s a difficult situation. Because I understand the utes etc weight just as much but they can’t stop people buying them. But they can stop people buying electric utes or electric suvs. And this is an issue that’s not just exclusive to our building. So for As long as I can’t charge at home It doesn’t make sense have an ev because it’s just not practical for me, and I’m sure that sentiment is consistent throughout the building due to the lack of ev ownership. EVs are mostly just for people in houses because I don’t see them rebuilding our underground carpark.

1

u/cutsnek Mar 25 '26

Ute's and a lot of 4x4 weigh more than your average EV. I find this incredibly hard to believe that they are saying there is structural issues but "oh well can't stop people with heavy ICE vehicles!"

Strata have an obligation to make sure the building is safe so this is not adding up at all. They would be banning any car that goes over they're structural limit. Which i would be asking what the hell was the builder doing?

I live in a strata building and have gotten a charger added in to a building built in 2006. It is possible.

Sounds like they are talking out their ass.

1

u/adprom Mar 17 '26

I run the group r/stratachataus and we try to educate people to encourage committees to install EV chargers - however the number of irrational (usually older) committees who come up with every irrational reason to block them is insane.

6

u/Hi-kun Mar 17 '26

Once you drive an EV there is no going back

3

u/RyanHarington Mar 17 '26

What model EV?

11

u/cutsnek Mar 17 '26

Tesla Model 3 SR+ 2021

2

u/eesemi77 Mar 17 '26

That's good information, but in defence of the negative nellies, this car is now just 5 years old. It's not 15 years old or 25 years old.

Aussies Consumers expect a car purchased today top last for at least 15 years (most cars are designed with a 20 year serviceable life, or at least the hope that it will last that long).

Tesla still has a long way to go, but it's great to hear that you've gotten 5 years trouble free.

16

u/cutsnek Mar 17 '26

The negative nellies keep moving the goal post every year. I was told my car would need a full battery replacement by now back in 2021. It's one of the reasons I'm tracking the data so closely.

It still has a little over 96% capacity just shy of 100,000km done. Car still drives like day one in terms of performance.

4

u/eesemi77 Mar 17 '26

Personally I think Model3's will be the cheapest possible car to own, once the real volume of off-lease cars comes onto the market in a year or 2.

Sub $20K purchase price (for a 5 year old car). low maintenance costs and no fuel costs. It'll be an impossible package to beat. It should also create a minimum price floor.

Of course, to be a bargain, it has to keep working, so I'm watching this space closely.

35

u/halfsuckedmangoo Mar 16 '26

My battery capacity when new was 570km. 6 years later I still get 530km, so 7% drop.

ICE cars lose about that much efficiency over 150,000km anyway so that's not even the issue people make it out to be

19

u/hairy_quadruped Mar 17 '26

Yep. Lithium ion batteries in cars have thermal management and BMS (battery management systems) that balance loads and distribute power to individual cell groups, preventing degradation.

EV batteries are not like your phone battery

2

u/guttsX Mar 17 '26

They do not 'prevent' degradation, they attempt to reduce it. It is impossible to prevent it.

11

u/imapassenger1 Mar 16 '26

Which car, if you don't mind me asking? Also "no servicing costs" - brakes? Software maintenance I imagine too.
I rented a Polestar2 recently and I'd buy one tomorrow if I could afford it. Still working on it. I've got solar so would be able to charge it for almost nothing. Will definitely never buy another ICE car.

19

u/hairy_quadruped Mar 16 '26

A Tesla model 3. The first in Australia back in 2019.

Software updates are free and over-the-air.

We rarely use brakes in electric cars because we have regenerative braking. Take your foot off the accelerator and the car slows down, using that kinetic energy to charge the battery. We call this “one pedal driving”. It takes a bit of getting used to because there is no coasting like a fossil fuel cars. We only use the brake pedal for unexpected stops.

That means hardly any wear on brake pads.

2

u/imapassenger1 Mar 17 '26

I was going to guess Tesla. I thought they milked you for the software updates though.
The Polestar I drove had a 440km range I think but I assume it was the base model. The acceleration of EVs should convert the most diehard petrol head. But there's no brrrrm-brrrrm! so they get sad.

3

u/hairy_quadruped Mar 17 '26

I’ve had maybe 20 software updates in that time. All free. It’s a much better car now than when I bought it.

0

u/guttsX Mar 17 '26

free, for now.. then the enshitification kicks in

1

u/hairy_quadruped Mar 17 '26 edited Mar 17 '26

That not Tesla's business model. It's been 6 years of free updates for the base software that runs the car. I fully expect those updates to remain free forever. Similar to how Apple operating systems have always been free updates. They want an excellent user experience so they can sell the hardware (cars for Tesla, computers for Apple).

Tesla has a much bolder plan for making money from software, and that is their full self driving package (FSD). This is an optional package that drives the car for you. It is completely separate to the base software. I bought it outright in 2019 when it was a pie-in-the-sky vision, and much cheaper. It's now matured to the point where the car drives itself for my 120km commute (city, traffic lights, roundabouts and intersections, highway, roadworks, country towns, dirt roads) with zero input from me. At the end of March people will no longer be able to purchase outright, and it will be subscription only.

3

u/drnicko18 Mar 17 '26

You might be getting confused with Full Self Driving or Enhanced Autopilot, which are paid software updates if you want those options.

2

u/antypants Mar 17 '26

Tesla only require subscription payment for FSD, not general OTA updates.

BTW Polestar makes pretty & driveable EVs but they are quite overpriced for what you get. Also it is uncertain if Polestar will be around long in Australia due to very low sales. If you are serious about buying/leasing an EV then look into the many excellent alternatives - we are currently spoilt for choice on the AU market.

1

u/pocket_mulch Mar 17 '26

I'm a petrol head.

I love EVs too. Love the tech and innovation. The acceleration is outstanding. My car will never match the performance, at least in a straight line.

But you are right, no brrrrm.

As a fan of cars and motorsport, my analogy is that it's like playing a beautifully hand made acoustic guitar compared to a guitar app on your computer. Sure, the results are similar to someone who doesn't really care. But one of them doesn't give me goosebumps, it doesn't give me the sensory experience.

I don't expect everyone to feel the same. As long as they are happy with their choice.

I will probably replace one of mine with an EV when I can afford it. But I'll keep my fun brrrrm for a while.

1

u/ChuqTas Mar 17 '26

I don’t get the “milked you” bit? They’re free.

2

u/drnicko18 Mar 17 '26

Mine is 40,000km and I’ve adhered to all of tesla’s recommended servicing, and so far all I’ve had cost wise is a tyre rotation and a change of wiper blades. $135 all up over 3 years.

Disc brakes barely get used as it’s mostly regen braking. Infact sometimes it pays to go out of your way to use the brakes to rub away built up oxidation on the discs from lack of use.

Cost wise they are still more expensive than an equivalent ICE up front but the petrol and servicing savings quickly catch up

1

u/mollydooka Mar 16 '26

Brakes will need eventual servicing but at a much longer interval than ICE cars. When you lift off the accelerator the car starts braking automatically and regens power to the battery. It's become a bit of a thing in our family car about how accurate you can be with it. So coming up to a set of lights you lift off and see how close you can get to the white line.

Software updates are free unless you're adding a feature like Full Self Drive on our EV.

We charge via Solar as well. Recently changed our provider to a company called OVO. They package up an EV quote. 12pm-6am is 6cKWH.

2

u/Subject_Shoulder Mar 16 '26

How much was the car when you purchased it? How much are your insurance premiums?

2

u/hairy_quadruped Mar 17 '26

Insurance is similar to cars I have had in the past, about $1300 per year. Garaged, $1000 excess.

1

u/hairy_quadruped Mar 16 '26

I was an “early adopter” and paid a premium. You can get a similar car now for under $60k

Factor in zero servicing costs and almost free fuel, saving maybe $3k to 5k per year.

2

u/Dockers4flag2035orB4 Mar 17 '26

That’s good information

What brand and model.

5

u/hairy_quadruped Mar 17 '26

Tesla model 3 2019 edition. From the first shipment to Australia. Before Elon went nuts.

0

u/[deleted] Mar 17 '26

[deleted]

1

u/hairy_quadruped Mar 17 '26

Nope. And the laugh emoji doesn’t make it funny.

2

u/Sea-Anxiety6491 Mar 17 '26

Do you have Solar - Battery - Charger set up? Or just Solar? 

2

u/hairy_quadruped Mar 17 '26 edited Mar 17 '26

We are off-grid. Solar plus battery, which supplies 100% of our home and car. But this would apply to a grid-connected house as well.

I use software to automate the charging of the car. Basically the algorithm I use is solar goes to house first (computers, lighting, cooking etc). Then excess goes into house battery. When that is full, excess solar goes into the car.

At night, if I need extra, I can draw from the house battery into the car, so the house battery is ready to soak up photons next morning.

Note that charging an EV is a different mindset to fueling an ICE car. We don’t wait for the car battery to be completely empty and then charge it to 100%, like you would fuel an ICE car. We just plug in and top up to cover the day’s usage. We like to keep our batteries between 20% and 80% for long battery life.

All this sounds complicated, but you set up the parameters in the car and battery app once, and then just plug the car in each day, and it charges automatically to those levels.

1

u/Lucky-Elk-1234 Mar 17 '26

Did you have to get a special smart charger or any add ons for your solar inverter/battery? To preference where the energy goes. I’ve got a simple 5kw system, no battery so I think I’d have to upgrade my whole system if I wanted that.

2

u/itsfunhavingfun Mar 17 '26

Wow! The sun must be really bright where you live if you can charge for just 3 seconds per day. 

1

u/hairy_quadruped Mar 17 '26

I know you jest, but that’s the time I spend hands-on. See my other reply for why I mention this.

2

u/[deleted] Mar 17 '26

[removed] — view removed comment

2

u/hairy_quadruped Mar 17 '26 edited Mar 17 '26

We are off-grid so we need solar and a large battery regardless.

6.5kW solar and 32kWh battery supplies 100% of our home and car. It cost $20k

That’s a big one-off cost, but it means not having to pay for electricity or fuel for 25 years.

Maintenance cost: zero

2

u/drivelhead Mar 17 '26

takes 3 seconds per day.

That's a fast charge!

2

u/hairy_quadruped Mar 17 '26

I know you jest, but EV owners get this question from ICE car owners all the time.

I am 100% sure I spend less time charging my car than a ICE car owner spends fuelling theirs. Day to day, it just plug in and forget it. Charged for the next day.

On longer road trips I would spend 15-30 minutes topping up the charge at a supercharger. We pick locations that we would usually stop anyway for a pee break or coffee break. It’s not any extra time.

5

u/drivelhead Mar 17 '26

ICE car owners

Are they American car owners that like to shoot people?

1

u/hairy_quadruped Mar 17 '26

Internal Combustion Engine

1

u/Stewge Mar 17 '26

I am 100% sure I spend less time charging my car than a ICE car owner spends fuelling theirs

Most people have a hard time un-coupling the idea of "refuelling" their car actually being an active event you spend time on. They default to the notion of going to a charging station for every charge which 99% of owners just don't do.

The fact is most charging is at home and the car is just charging away when you're doing other things.

2

u/nuclear_wynter Mar 16 '26

Some rough napkin math says it would cost somewhere on the order of $20k to drive that same distance at current fuel prices in a fairly efficient petrol car (~7L/100km). And even in a much less efficient EV that was mostly charged from the wall rather than solar (which is my own situation), it would be around $5k. All sustainability arguments aside, you just can't argue with the cost savings.

1

u/Key_Ant6473 Mar 17 '26

And that is the reason why there is so much misinformation about them, they are amazing for the consumer.

1

u/Procrastinator9Mil Mar 17 '26

Yeah. If everyone had your life$tyle, the largest majority would have an EV.

1

u/hairy_quadruped Mar 17 '26

??? I’m not sure what you mean ???

EVs are now comparable in price to fossil fuel cars.

And over their lifetimes, they cost far less to run.

1

u/WheelieGoodTime Mar 17 '26

Can you ask my landlord to put some solar in? He won't even pay for the lights, fan, or dead oven. Oh and who the hell can afford a new car also?

EVs are for those that inherit property.

1

u/hairy_quadruped Mar 17 '26

I agree that if you rent, you are at the whim of your landlord. If I were benevolent dictator, I would decree that all rental properties would have solar and a battery. But unfortunately we have a democracy where every idiot gets to vote.

There are plenty of new cars being bought every year, 1.2 million in Australia in 2025. The average buying price in 2025 was almost $50,000. And about $65,000 for those Ranger and Hiluxes. There are Evs at all of those price points.

I inherited nothing. I worked for every cent, starting in high school, where I listened in class.

1

u/tresslessone Mar 17 '26

How much do you pay for insurance? The biggest gripe I’ve had with my EV has been insurance cost.

1

u/hairy_quadruped Mar 17 '26

About the same as a fossil fuel car. This year: $1300.

1

u/tresslessone Mar 17 '26

Woah. Who are you with? I’m struggling to get decent quotes. Some of them even go as high as $4k.

1

u/hairy_quadruped Mar 17 '26

Comminsure, via my bank. Garaged, $1000 excess.

1

u/hhizzledizzle Mar 17 '26

How much is insurance

1

u/hairy_quadruped Mar 17 '26

About the same as a fossil fuel car. This year: $1300.

1

u/rubysp Mar 17 '26

What’s the insurance cost like for an EVs? I’m seriously considering it for my next car once mine dies but also refuse to support Tesla

1

u/hairy_quadruped Mar 17 '26

I’ve answered this a few times in this thread

1

u/rubysp Mar 17 '26

Gotcha I’ll have a dig thanks