The second round of the NSW Government‘s electric vehicle (EV) fleets incentive will see over 1000 EVs hit the road.
Treasurer and Energy Minister Matt Kean stated that the first two rounds of Government assistance for transitioning NSW fleets are expected to increase EV registrations by more than 10%.
“Round 3 is now open as we fast-track the State’s vehicle fleet of the future,” Minister Kean said.
The State Government will provide $105 million to help commercial fleets buy new EVs and fuel cell vehicles. Approximately 2,000 EVs have been encouraged through the scheme in rounds 1 and 2.
According to Minister Kean, rideshare and vehicle subscription organisations strongly participated in Round 2, resulting in bids representing 81.6% of the total number of vehicles.
“The second round had 20 successful bidders – 17 individual fleets and three fleet aggregators – who will receive a financial incentive to shift to EVs,” Minister Kean said.
Additionally, Minister Kean stated that successful bidders would be given funding to help co-fund over a thousand smart chargers.
The incentive is part of the $633 million Electric Vehicle Strategy, which seeks to make NSW the most convenient and inexpensive place in Australia to buy an EV. It is intended to help bridge the gap between the cost of a new EV and the equivalent internal combustion engine vehicle acquired otherwise.
Splend, Custom Fleet, Reliance, IAG, Woollahra Municipal Council, CarBon Leasing and Rentals Pty Ltd, Northern Beaches Council, Murray River Council, CB Cars Pty Ltd, Palm Investment Holdings Pty Ltd, SIXT Australia, Origin Energy, ElevenX, Lockhart Shire Council, Essential Energy, Campbelltown City Council, Ballina Shire Council, Karmo Cars, and TAS Australia were the successful recipients.
Minister Kean said the transport industry accounts for around 22% of overall emissions in Australia, and the scheme will assist NSW in reaching net zero emissions by 2050.
“Corporate and government fleets account for over half of new vehicle sales in Australia and are a significant source of second-hand vehicles,” Minister Kean stated.
Minister Kean added that using fleet purchasing power to grow both the range of models and the number of EVs in NSW implies that prices will fall and more vehicles will be accessible to private consumers through the second-hand market in the coming years.
The EV Strategy is predicted to raise EV sales to 52% of new car sales by 2030-31, with the NSW Government’s goal of having EVs account for the vast majority of new car sales by 2035.
The Drive electric NSW EV fleets incentive is active until 23 May 2023.
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