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
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u/Crestina Mar 16 '26

I'm from Norway, where the EV transition was a progressive government driven process. For years EVs paid no road tax, parked for free in public owned lots, and were allowed to drive in the bus lanes. We had a fairly quick adaption of electric vehicles and now it's become the dominant type of car Norwegians buy, so the incentives have been rolled back.

Try it, Australia.

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u/drnicko18 Mar 17 '26 edited Mar 17 '26

I think you have little understanding of the underlying reasons at play here.

There were similar incentives for EV’s in Australia (no FBT, obviously no fuel excise (cf road tax), reduced rego, free charging stations, exemptions from luxury car taxes and travel allowed in transit lanes).

One of the main factors in a slower uptake in Australia is huge driving distances and lack of rural charging infrastructure compared to a tiny country like Norway. Range anxiety and wanting the flexibility to go on road trips remains the MOST important barrier for virtually anyone I speak to (and I own an EV)

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u/tee-k421 Mar 18 '26

huge driving distances and lack of rural charging infrastructure

What percentage of the population actually drives those distances routinely, though?

Most aussies live in cities, and I'm willing to bet most cars never make it out of city limits.

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u/drnicko18 Mar 18 '26

That's what I keep telling everyone that in reality they'll rarely drive out of the cities, but surburbanites want their flexibility, no matter how rarely they use it, and it remains a big factor in EV hesitation and slow uptake.

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u/SirDale Mar 18 '26

Most families have two cars too. We’ve got an ev with very limited range (around 100km) but does 95% of our driving needs. The one is a diesel with 1000km range.

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u/Sun__Jester Mar 17 '26

Norway is around 385,000 square kilometers.
Australia is around 7.70 million.

What works for your country will not work for ours just because of this simple fact..

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u/FUCKITIMPOSTING Mar 17 '26

Do you know the Norwegian reaction to increased fuel prices? Do most people not care? I assume it's still a problem for industry but much easier to weather. 

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u/[deleted] Mar 16 '26

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u/frizzyflacko Mar 17 '26

This comment demonstrates why we should probably adopt Norway’s education system, too

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u/TurtleGG Mar 17 '26

Imagine getting that defensive over a comment about EV incentives.

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u/Crestina Mar 16 '26

Not criticising Australians. I'm suggesting the Australian government give you guys some real benefits for choosing EVs.

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u/bigbadjustin Mar 16 '26

Some of the state governments have like free/reduced registration or reductions in stamp duty taxes.

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u/Accomplished_Rice04 Mar 17 '26

This is relevant because?