[BlackVolt]

I read an article today that the Australian government has not considered introducing rebates or subsidies for EV vehicles or vehicles such as the Volt or the Prius. Nissan Australia is trying to push the government into introducing a rebate scheme, not only for the Leaf, but for other EV vehicles including the Volt. The more electric cars on the road, the better for the world. The Nissan Leaf is due to be launched in Australia in just under a month and the Volt will be available at the end of the year. Hopefully Nissan and GM is successful in making the government introduce a rebate program as I would like to see a lot of Volt's in Australia and hope to own one myself. A link to the article is below.

http://www.carsales.com.au/news/201.../government-needs-to-support-evs-nissan-30020

“Despite numerous representations to the current Federal Government, both via the automotive industry body and direct from Nissan Australia, there has been no attempt by the administration to address the mutual benefits of consumer or public incentives to encourage interest in (and sales of) EV’s in Australia,” he said.

“This is clearly out of step with other successful world markets and incongruent with the Government’s carbon tax proposals. Nevertheless, we believe the Leaf has a clear potential in Australia as a niche, second-vehicle and have adjusted our approach to suit.”

 

[Liam]

EV rebates for Australians would be nice but manufacturers should not rely on subsidies to ensure a reasonably priced product. The leaf is prohibitively expensive in Australia - $51,500 + dealer costs rego etc. There's rumour the Volt will be up around $60k and $48k for the Mitsubishi iMiev is just laughable.

I think GM and Nissan wanted their vehicles to be successful on the North American market, and they have been. It's a shame that Nissan in particular are seeking some extreme profit in other parts of the world to recoup their aggressive pricing in the US. In fact on their Facebook page for the leaf Nissan admitted that they were subsidising the price of the Leaf in the US until domestic production begins.

The Leaf and the Volt will sell well if they are competitively priced, and any Government subsidy should only be the icing on the cake.

 

[Bzzzt]

Ha!

Where do you think Rupert Murdoch hails from?

Start the Conspiracy Engines! Full speed ahead!

 

[mws1047]

As much as I would like the Volt to be similar in cost as in the US, there are many reasons why it will not be. All cars are more costly in Oz than the US.

There is no reason why the Volt or any car not manufactured in Oz should have a Government provided rebate. Unlike many contributers to this site, Australians are not concerned about energy independence or the implications of oil on foreign policy. Concern about responding to climate change is also a very low priority. So why would a popularly elected government provide BEV and EREV rebates?

The government has enacted carbon taxation and other initiatives to achieve the bipartisan commitment to our global commitments on greenhouse gas equivalent reductions. So why do we need a biased rebate for cars as though we are picking winners to save the planet with taxpayers' money.

The exception is if somehow GM Holden has a prior agreement for some GreenCar fund moneys for Volt R&D IP or Australian 3rd party R&D embedded in the Volt. We also do not know what has been agreed to such that the Australian Government provides co-investment funds to Holden with the expectation of exports of long and short wheelbase Holdens to the US. What incentives are in place for vehicles to come the other way?

I most certainly do not want Government rebates applied to the Volt, or any other EV sold in Oz.

What I'm more concerned about is the almost passive engagement of the market by Holden as though the Volt is just another car. The value proposition and the market is very different from normal and especially for Holden.