More than 1000 extra electric vehicles will hit Australian roads over the next nine months after the NSW government announced a new round of subsidies for the next-generation vehicles.
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Twenty organisations will receive financial help to electrify their fleets as part of the government's $105 million program, with most funding going to ride-share and vehicle subscription firms.
But industry experts said the discounts would ultimately benefit consumers because the new cars would filter down to Australia's second-hand vehicle market.
NSW Treasurer Matt Kean announced the second round of funding from the EV Fleets Incentive, revealing local councils, energy providers and three fleet aggregators would receive electric vehicle subsidies.
The program was open to firms looking to trade at least 10 petrol-powered vehicles for electric models, with applications ranked on the distances the vehicles would travel and their potential to cut carbon emissions.
Upgrading vehicle fleets would cut pollution faster, Mr Kean said, and boost the number of electric vehicles in Australia's second-hand market.
"Corporate and government fleets account for over half of new vehicle sales in Australia and are a significant source of second-hand vehicles," he said.
"Leveraging the bulk purchasing power of fleets can expand both the range of models and number of EVs in NSW, which means prices will fall."
Funding from the program will also go towards installing more than 1000 electric vehicle chargers.
Successful applicants included electric vehicle rental, subscription and ride-share loan services such as SIXT Australia, Karmo Cars and Splend.
Australian Electric Vehicle Association national president Chris Jones said the fleet funding would help make electric vehicles more accessible to a wide range of organisations.
But he said these cars could have an even bigger impact within three years when companies traded them in for new models, giving individual buyers the chance to invest in a cheaper electric vehicle.
"Fleet vehicles tend to have short leases - three-year arrangements - and then they're flipped into the second-hand market which will mean more high-quality EVs are available at a lower price," he said.
"Two thirds of all vehicle purchases in Australia are used vehicles. It's easy to think that everyone buys a new car but they don't."
Mr Jones said despite fringe benefits tax cuts passed in 2022, electric vehicles were still an expensive purchase, with the cheapest models costing about $45,000.
NSW is the only state with a targeted fleet incentive, though all Australian state and territory governments have committed to replacing some or all of their internal combustion engine vehicles with electric models.
Australian Associated Press
