The charger port is a Lightning connector.
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Of course it is.
There’s plenty of cheaper EVs.
The 80-85k price range seems to have been established where most of the models sit, which is just below luxury car tax threshold. This in turn makes it possible to go with a novated lease, and take advantage of the current tax benefits.
Where most of which models sit? The cheaper EVs?
No.
Most EVs are expensive, but just below LCTT. So 80-85 (it’s probably lower than that for Tesla 3, so let’s say 75-85)
Cheaper EVs are below that.
BYD and MG both have models under $40,000. Have driven MG4 and it seemed to be a nice little car, with a reasonable range and features. Probably good for driving around city and suburbs.
As new 2nd hand Peugeots are going for $48,000.
Gettable too. mg actually have vehicles.
Chinese cars are in such a good place to grab market share in Australia. Fuel is not coming down in price.
At the moment we dont need a new car but it would be nice in the new year. Hopefully choice is abundant in the second half.
Id like to spend a little money on the new mini cooper SE.
Apparently will have 400km+ range. Price will be the kicker though. The old model is on sale now driveaway for 60k.
Perhaps they will keep the pricing if competition from asian brands remains strong.(id stomach 60k if it gave closer to tesla 3 base model range…which i thinks 480 odd?)
Old model mini is seriously outdated. Didn’t fit a pixel 6 in the wireless charge spot. Also when launched they were 60k driveaway. Crept up to 70k before new model announced. New one will be interesting given it will be made in China. May be cheaper with bigger range. Batteries will be BYD I believe (like current Teslas).
From earlier last year.
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From
Memory, the mini had one of the worst ranges, but was pricey.
Given the batteries are a significant size, that might be part of the problem.
A copper coloured Lexus RZ caught my eye on a car transporter yesterday heading down StKilda Rd.
Nice looking car but not in my price range.
Only got a brief glimpse of the front of another SUV on the transporter as it had a distinctive grill & it looked very similar to an Ioniq 7.
Mrs Fox is going to test drive one next week. She has a 2016 RX350 which has done only 40,000 km and is in great condition and they have offered a $60,000 trade-in. Still will have to be very very good for her to get this new EV.
Very low range. 250km? But for me was more than enough.
A small battery would also mean mains charging would be sufficient too.
Missus and I do under 10k combined a year. Don’t need huge range.
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Very interesting video, especially from the 16 min mark onwards.
Every car thing I’ve seen treats Cadogan with contempt over his views on EVs.
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Good news for some
High Court finds Victoria’s electric and hybrid car tax ‘unconstitutional’
The Victorian government could be forced to wind back its electric and hybrid vehicle tax after a High Court ruling.
Carly Douglas and Jade Gailberger
4 min read
October 18, 2023 - 11:57AM
01:41
Victoria
The Victorian government will likely be forced to wind back its electric and hybrid vehicles tax after a landmark decision by the High Court.
Two electric vehicle drivers, Chris Vanderstock and Kath Davies, won their 2021 legal challenge against the Victorian government in the High Court on Wednesday after the state’s Zero and Low-Emission Vehicle road user charge was deemed “unconstitutional”.
The court ruled that states and territories did not hold the power to impose the charge after the plaintiffs argued taxes on the use or consumption of goods are not exempt from the constitution’s ban on the states imposing customs, duties and excise taxes.
Victoria is the only state to charge low-emission vehicle owners, but NSW and Western Australia have announced plans to introduce similar schemes in July 2027.
The decision will likely see those plans scrapped.
The fee, which was increased on July 1 this year, sees electric and hydrogen vehicle owners charged 2.8 cents for each kilometre they travel during the year and plug-in hybrid vehicle owners 2.3 cents for each kilometre.
EV drivers are required to submit photographs of their vehicle odometer to the state government annually. Picture: Supplied
Currently, EV drivers are required to submit photographs of their vehicle odometer to the state government annually.
If they fail to do so they can be charged for driving 13,500km or have their registration suspended or cancelled.
The average electric vehicle user is expected to save about $378 per year if the charge is scrapped.
Earlier on Wednesday, Treasurer Tim Pallas said the tax had raised $3.9m last year.
Mr Pallas said despite the charge, electric vehicle usage grew “very considerably”.
“When we introduced the charge a couple years ago, we saw electric vehicles being about one per cent - slightly less than one percent - of the vehicle registrations at the time. Since the introduction of the charge, they now are about seven per cent of registrations,” he said.
But deputy leader of the Victorian Greens Ellen Sandell, who said Victoria’s current electric car policy is “the worst in the world”, argued the tax was a major disincentive to Victorians buying zero or low emissions vehicles.
She doubted the federal government would step in and legislate the tax themselves, saying the law is “ridiculous” and “very unpopular”.
“I think that this (decision) will stop electric car taxes in their tracks,” she said.
Tim Pallas said the tax raised $3.9m last year. Picture: David Geraghty
The decision comes just weeks after Victorian Ombudsman Deborah Glass released a report into the state’s ZLEV scheme, finding it was inflexible in dealing with complaints and laws around penalties charged to drivers were unclear.
Equity Generation Lawyers senior associate David Hertzberg said the charge was also a major disincentive to drivers taking up the clean technology.
Mr Hertzberg called the judgment “a landmark constitutional decision”.
“Today’s judgment means that Victoria’s electric vehicle tax is invalid. It also sets a precedent which will likely prevent other States from implementing similar legislation,” he said.
Ms Davies said she was “thrilled”, saying Australia has long been lagging behind the rest of the world on the uptake of electric vehicles.
“Now is not the time to be taxing electric vehicles – it’s the time to be doing everything we can to encourage people to make the switch to cleaner cars,” she said.
“The Victorian government has been moving in the wrong direction – it went out alone in taxing electric vehicles, and recently it scrapped its electric vehicle subsidy.”
Mr Vanderstock said the outcome would benefit all Australians, arguing the “ad hoc, piecemeal policy” undermined collective efforts to reduce emissions.
“We believe that Victoria’s electric vehicle tax discouraged people from buying EVs, and punished existing EV owners who are trying to do the right thing,” he said.
“We hope that today’s decision is a step in the right direction towards a cleaner, lower emissions future.”
Victoria is the only state to charge low-emission vehicle owners. Picture: AFP
Victorian Greens transport spokeswoman Katherine Copsey MLC called on the Allan government to refund all electric vehicle users who were charged the “backwards, unfair tax” and to repeal the tax in parliament.
“It is beyond ridiculous that Labor in Victoria is trying to make it harder and more expensive for people to bring down transport emissions and switch to electric cars,” she said.
“Labor must now refund all electric car owners who paid this tax, and re-introduce subsidies and incentives for people to switch to electric cars and other climate-friendly forms of transport.”
Teal MP Zoe Daniel welcomed the decision saying it was a “bad tax” that deterred motorists from buying EVs.
But the Member for Goldstein said it was also a “wake up call for the Albanese government”.
“Transport Minister Catherine King needs to get her skates on and introduce fuel standards designed to encourage the sale of fuel efficient vehicles and EVs and in line with comparable countries,” Ms Daniel said.
“At the moment, the government cannot even tell us the level of carbon emissions from internal combustion engines. We do not have the data.
“We need the government to initiate an equitable plan for a national road user charge so that all road users pay their fair share for using our highways.”
Electric Vehicle Council chief executive Behyad Jafari said the decision was a win for Australian motorists and would pave the way for a better policy across the nation.
Mr Jafari said there was nothing inherently wrong with road user charges, but they should not discourage the take up of electric vehicles.
“Any road user charge scheme should be national and we now look forward to working with the federal government on sensible road funding reform, without singling out drivers who are trying to do the right thing,” he said.
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“Any scheme should apply to all vehicles and should take into consideration the economic cost of emissions.”
Mr Jafari said road funding would be an important consideration for the government.
But he said the priority should be boosting the transition to EVs to decarbonise the transport system.
Let’s hope we get a refund on what we have already had to pay,
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Talking to a panel beater the other day and enquired if he had seen any EV’s in there lately, given the transition.
He said Hybrids are a lot more common. Most common car was the MG, I think a few rental fleets changed over to MG when they had the covid car shortage.
Said there had been a few BYD’s
same as any other car working on them, but like need to disconnect the battery and leave it for a couple of hours before you can actually work on the car.
If greater than 30% damage most cars are written off these days, and probably worst is the Hyundai Kona as if you damage the front end with bumper, headlights etc, could cost $9,000 to replace and likely write it off.
Wife was driving my EV. Sent me a picture of a nail in the tyre. A bit later I rang and said have you got it fixed? ‘No warning lights have come on, so I think it’s ok…’
But that’s not the point.
I convinced her to take it to one of the big name places to get repaired. The guy says ‘I don’t know much about electric vehicles, not really confident, but I guess I could try…’
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Small dent in front of my Tesla 3. Rolled into a Porsche.
Insurance claim, Porsche had $9000 damage ! None visible but who am I to argue.
Tesla will only supply parts to Tesla approved repairers so my local bloke cannot do it. No idea on cost but 8 months to get parts and I have to leave it for a week.
Gone are the days when you got out the filler and fixed it yourself.