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A damning report released today by the car industry has exposed
just how far behind Australia’s vehicle emissions are compared to world’s best practice – prompting calls for a mandatory Federal Government code and better quality fuels.
In Europe
car makers are fined if they don’t meet stringent vehicle fleet average emissions targets, and the policy has been one of the main drivers of the rapid development of electric cars there – even though customer demand is still relatively low.
However, Australia has no such penalties as there are
no vehicle fleet average emissions targets mandated by the Federal Government.
High CO2 emissions and lax fuel standards must be fixed, says Volkswagen
Volkswagen has used disappointing Australian auto industry CO2 results to hammer the federal government on emissions standards and fuel quality.
Outspoken Volkswagen Group Australia chief Michael Bartsch said the results showed Australia was becoming an “automotive third world” and a “dumping ground for older and less efficient vehicles”.
Bartsch is deputy chair of the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries (FCAI), which came up with the voluntary CO2 reduction plan in 2020 in the absence of federal government action.
Bartsch called for a mandatory CO2 target and for better unleaded petrol quality with lower sulphur content, both of which he says would encourage new drivetrain tech with lower or zero emissions to come to Australia.
A damning report released today by the car industry has exposed just how far behind Australia’s vehicle emissions are compared to world’s best practice –
prompting calls for a mandatory Federal Government code and better quality fuels.
In Europe car makers are fined if they don’t meet stringent vehicle fleet average emissions targets, and the policy has been one of the main drivers of the rapid development of electric cars there – even though customer demand is still relatively low.
However, Australia has no such penalties as there are no vehicle fleet average emissions targets mandated by the Federal Government.
Australia missing out on EVs thesaturdaypaper.com.au - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from thesaturdaypaper.com.au Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Last month, Volkswagen Australia chief Michael Bartsch revealed Australia’s clean technology laws were so weak, his German head office would not supply Australians with the company’s top selling mid-range electric vehicles.
Without a clear policy to signal the market for electric vehicles would grow, Bartsch said, Volkswagen would instead supply popular models, such as the ID.3 hatchback and the ID.4 SUV, to more welcoming markets such as North America and Europe.
Undoubtedly, the Morrison government remains in the slow lane on electric vehicle policy. Its Future Fuels Strategy discussion paper rules out subsidies for electric vehicles, and the government has failed to implement fuel efficiency standards to encourage the transition away from traditional cars.