ACT Bans Petrol Car Sales & The Strategies In Place to Get There…

ACT Bans Petrol Car Sales & The Strategies In Place to Get There…

It’s that time of the week again GFZ's!

Some big changes are happening, and our mission is to inspire you to jump on board or keep going. Today's story is close to home, and it's a goodie! 

Let's talk about cars. (Entertainingly, we promise)  

My car is a third-hand-me-down, but I know it is not a petrol-efficient car. And with these fuel prices, an electric vehicle is at the top of my list, but the price is a significant factor. However, many states are giving HUGE incentives, like the ACT.

ACT is pushing for the shift to electric vehicles with its recent goal to end the sales of new petrol cars by 2035 and the strategies in place to create the smooth transition are rather impressive…

The ACT government is already incentivising people to purchase electric vehicles by giving interest-free loans, free registration, and a stamp duty exemption. Now they will turn their heads to changing new petrol vehicle registration costs in a further push to transition.

Currently, car registration fees in the ACT are based on thecar's weight. However... The latest announcement has been that vehicle registrations will no longer be based on weight but theiremissions! The government recognised that the current registration system penalised heavier electric vehicles despite their lower emissions.

Why electric vehicles?

The ACT’s most significant emissions are currently coming from transport. Transport emissions made up over 60%! Of that 60%, 70% is from personal car use. Crazy right? 

So…the ACT will lead the nation and join others worldwide in providing a smooth transition to zero emissions (eeee!) vehicles over the coming decade by making these zero-emission electric vehicles affordable in the years to come.

The next steps…

The ‘Zero Emission Vehicle’ strategy announced by the ACT chief minister, Andrew Barr, to phase out internal combustion (petrol) engines will officially befinalised by 2035. This meansno new petrol engine vehicles could be sold in the territory past that date.

As part of the plan for the ACT to shift to electric cars, the aim now is to make sure the vehicles can be asaccessible and affordable as petrol cars. 

We are ready for the costs to lower and the accessibility to increase for this next stage of reducing emissions! 

Could petrol cars be the next cassette player of things that our kids look at and say, “what’s that?” We will soon see… 

Are you from the ACT? We’d love to hear from you and how you’re finding the transition. 

If you loved this story, we think you will love our story about WA ending coal fired power. It’s a goodie! 

GFZ Team x