Electric Vehicle Alliance to Mull Strategies to Boost Oz EV Acceptance

The fourth annual Australian electric-vehicle conference in Melbourne next month will provide details of the midterm report on EV trials in the State of Victoria.

The organizing Electric Vehicle Alliance concedes the global take rate of EVs has been slower than many anticipated, with initial purchase cost, range and recharge times seen as key barriers.

The alliance was created by Future Climate Australia to align players in the Australian EV industry and promote the introduction of the vehicles. Its members include the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries and the Federation of Automotive Products Manufacturers.

The alliance says the Dec. 4 conference is intended to send a critical message that the industry is serious about bringing EV access to a wider cross-section of motorists.

Future Climate Australia Executive Director Henry O’Clery tells the Climate Spectator website the conference will review progress in the rollout of vehicles and infrastructure; discuss Australia’s role in EV development; and debate the strategies needed to bolster acceptance of the technology.

“We will be discussing the challenges facing this emerging technology, including public awareness, pricing, battery range and recharging, all of which appear to limit market uptake of electric vehicles,” O’Clery is quoted as saying.

“We’ll also be contemplating how to stimulate public demand, elicit tangible government support and how to graduate the technology into the mainstream market.”

The alliance says auto makers’ huge investments in electric powertrains illustrates the industry’s conviction that EVs are the way of the future, and an ever-increasing percentage of people will drive cars that draw some or all of their energy from the power grid.

“Attitudes (toward) and technology for EVs are evolving, but at the same time the urgency of finding technological solutions to energy issues has only got greater, with EVs representing a crucial part of the solution,” it says.

“There is a pressing need to continue advancing EV technology rapidly while also communicating the benefits effectively to a wider audience.”