The EV Transition Is Harder Than Anyone Thinks

Re:The EV Transition Is Harder Than Anyone Thinks by alvah on Tuesday March 28, 2023 @11:39PM (#35352088)

I like driving, and my next car will most likely be an EV, not because it's "better' (whatever that means), but because the Australian Taxation Office has modified the treatment of EVs to make buying anything else financially stupid (if you buy your car through a business entity).

Personally I'd rather have a PHEV with ~50km EV-only range at freeway speeds, which would mean using EV-only for ~90% of my driving, while being able to use petrol for towing & longer trips, but (a) there are none available yet with a sensible price / performance mix (in Australia at least), and (b) the ATO has already indicated they will not continue to treat PHEVs favourably in the long-term.

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Re:The EV Transition Is Harder Than Anyone Thinks by pugz on Wednesday March 29, 2023 @02:39AM (#35353472)

I'm also Australian and have ordered an EV a few months ago because of the FBT incentives. You're right that there's an extremely limited selection of vehicles in Australia. Hopefully that changes with the new favourable tax regime.

Can you elaborate on (b)? I hadn't read anything that indicated PHEVs are out of favour, but I haven't paid attention since the initial flurry of news.

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Re:The EV Transition Is Harder Than Anyone Thinks by alvah on Wednesday March 29, 2023 @02:59AM (#35353619)

Sure, it's in https://www.ato.gov.au/law/view/document?docid=AFS/EV-FBT/00...

"Plug-in hybrid electric vehicles - 1 April 2025 onwards From 1 April 2025, a plug-in hybrid electric vehicle will not be considered a zero or low emissions vehicle under FBT law."

However, I mis-remembered it - if you buy a PHEV by 1 April 2025 it will remain FBT-free.

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Re:The EV Transition Is Harder Than Anyone Thinks by pugz on Thursday March 30, 2023 @08:35PM (#35380802)

Thanks! I had somehow missed that. Feels irresponsible that it hadn't been mentioned in reporting of the changes (or maybe I missed it there too)

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