South Australia senator Tim Storer will chair a select committee on electric vehicles.

The committee will investigate the economic, environment and social benefits of widespread EV uptake in Australia; the opportunity for the development of EV manufacturing, supply and value chain activities; and how the federal, state and territory governments can better work together to support these goals.

“We are on the cusp of the biggest disruption to our transport system since the advent of the internal combustion engine,” Storer says.

He says Australia is well placed to lead the transformation to electric, which some reports say will see EVs as cheap as conventional vehicles by 2024 and comprise half of all new car sales globally by 2040.

“We have all the natural and human resources needed to build EVs from scratch,” Storer says.

“My home state of South Australia, in particular, is ideally placed to build EVs. It’s less than a year since Holden ceased its operations at its Elizabeth plant, meaning that much of the skilled workforce is still around, as is the site.”

Electric Vehicle Council (EVC) chief executive officer Behyad Jafari says the committee will give the industry the platform to continue exploring the benefits, opportunities and challenges in driving the transition from the old to the future of road transport.

“Most importantly, the actions from this effort will give Australians access to vehicles that are cheaper to drive and healthier to have on the road.”

The NRMA says EVs will reduce the cost of transport to Australians, and offer significant potential benefits to the Australian economy of up to $3 billion, along with thousands of new jobs.
The inquiry will seek information from a wide range of stakeholders, including the EVC and other peak bodies, major car manufacturers, Australian=basedEV start-ups, lithium and cobalt miners and refiners, energy companies, state, territory and local governments, and environment and health groups.

Source: http://autotalk.com.au/

25 Jul 2018