‘We're just not getting the uptake': Electric vehicle sales drive off a cliff
The number of fully electric passenger vehicles sold fell 64 per cent in the first half of this year compared to the six months to July last year, down from 68,136 in 2024 to 54,531 this year.
Fully electric sports-utility-vehicle sales dropped 16 per cent during the same period, from 40,468 vehicles in 2024 to 33,887 in the first half of this year, according to sales figures from the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries and the Electric Vehicle Council.
However, sales of hybrid vehicles continue to grow, indicating that vehicles that save drivers on fuel costs, while producing fewer emissions, are popular with motorists.
Plug-in hybrid sports-utility-vehicle sales boomed in the first half of this year to 14,386, up 83 per cent compared to the first six months of 2024. Traditional hybrid SUVs grew 27 per cent in the same time.
Loading
Slow EV sales do not bode well for the federal government's emissions reduction goals. It also confounds the government's generous scheme to boost EV sales with a waiver on fringe benefits tax, which can discount a vehicle's sticker price by up to $30,000 when combined with an employer's novated lease arrangement.
EVs comprised about 7.7 per cent of total vehicle sales in the first half of this year, compared with 8.0 per cent in 2024 and 7.4 per cent in 2023.
Clean cars are expected to deliver a big chunk of the pollution cuts needed to reach the federal government's commitment to net zero emissions by 2030.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Perth Now
32 minutes ago
- Perth Now
Leak proves talkfest ‘choreographed'
A leak revealing the Treasury pre-wrote a list of outcomes from Labor's much-hyped economic roundtable is proof the 'whole exercise is being choreographed', Sussan Ley says. The roundtable will not happen until next week, and yet a Treasury document showed pre-written advice for cabinet, the ABC reported on Thursday. Among the recommendations was pausing the National Construction Code, which sets safety and environmental standards for buildings. The code has been criticised, including by the Productivity Commission, for driving up the cost of construction by imposing overly strict regulations. The leaked document also recommended a plan to roll out artificial intelligence to process building approvals. The Opposition Leader said it was clear the government already knew what it wanted from the upcoming roundtable. Opposition Leader Sussan Ley says Labor's economic roundtable is 'choreographed'. Dean Martin / NewsWire Credit: News Corp Australia 'It's all been lined up, statements are ready to go out,' Ms Ley told Nine's Today. 'People are going there in good faith and they want to see outcomes. 'They want see us growing the economic pie and they want to see Australians pay less tax and be rewarded for their effort. 'I fear that none of those things are actually on the agenda at this productivity roundtable.' Her predecessor, Peter Dutton, took a 10-year pause on the National Construction Code to the federal election. Whether the policy remains in line with Ms Ley's vision for the Coalition is unclear. Further on housing, the Treasury advice recommended measures to streamline housing approvals and reforms to clear a backlog of 30,000 applications waiting to clear environmental hurdles. The artificial intelligence plan would be key to getting through that backlog. The focus on housing comes amid widespread expectations the Albanese government will fall short of its pledge to build 1.2 million homes by 2030. A reported Treasury leak shows a list of outcomes from Labor's economic roundtable before it has happened. Martin Ollman / NewsWire Credit: News Corp Australia Employment and Workplace Relations Minister Amanda Rishworth defended the pre-written advice, saying it was normal for Treasury officials to prepare notes based on conversations in the lead-up to the big talks. 'It's not surprising that Treasury would prepare advice to government and, of course, in the lead-up to the productivity roundtable, there has been ministers and other organisations holding a lot of discussions,' Ms Rishworth told the ABC. 'There's been other roundtables led by government ministers discussing some of the challenges and some of the opportunities.' She added that it was 'a really good opportunity to bring people together and look at the very long term of what we need to do as a country'.
9 News
5 hours ago
- 9 News
The crucial factor that could soon cost every Aussie $14,000 a year
Your web browser is no longer supported. To improve your experience update it here Productivity: it's the crucial economic principle that has helped propel Australians into some of the best living standards in the world. But even as politicians and economists discuss it more and more, ahead of the federal government's crucial upcoming roundtable, it's something that many people still don't quite understand. So what actually is productivity, and why are experts so concerned with it at the moment? This is what you need to know. Productivity has driven the massive improvement in Australian living standards since mid-last century. (Edwina Pickles/SMH) Think of productivity as working smarter, not harder. Economically speaking, productivity is the amount of output you get from a set of inputs. Inputs are things like labour – often measured as the number of employees or number of hours worked – and capital, while output is the amount of goods and services produced. For a basic example, let's say a fast food outlet employs five staff, who work a combined 200 hours per week, and produces 5000 burgers over the course of that week. Its productivity would be 25 burgers per hour worked. So, put super simply, productivity is how much stuff you get from a set amount of effort. Productivity growth has been slowing in Australia and most other advanced economies. (Louie Douvis/AFR) Productivity itself isn't falling, but productivity growth is most certainly on the decline in Australia. The Australian Bureau of Statistics' (ABS) main, top-line measure of productivity growth has fallen substantially in recent years. In 2022-23, the 20-year average annual growth rate had fallen to 0.9 per cent, down from 1.2 per cent the year before and just half of the 1.8 per cent it was in 2003-04. It's important to note this problem isn't unique to Australia; just about every developed country is experiencing slowing productivity. Improved productivity is responsible for Australians' improved living standards. It leads to higher wages, more (and cheaper and better-quality) goods and services available, bigger profits for businesses, and overall economic growth. It also even paves the way for more leisure time; according to the Productivity Commission, the average Australian now spends five fewer hours at work every week than in 1960 due to better productivity. But if growth continues to slow, it puts all those benefits at risk. Improved productivity has allowed companies to produce more goods that are both cheaper and better quality. (Getty) To put a dollar figure on it, the Productivity Commission estimates that full-time workers will be $14,000 a year worse off by 2035 if Australia can't rediscover its previous growth and instead continues on its current trend. "The implications of that, I think, are already being felt," RBA Governor Michele Bullock said on August 12. "Real wages are not rising by very much, because that's the implication of slow productivity growth is that real wages can't grow as quickly. "If we can get productivity growth up, that will allow for more growth in real wages, which is ultimately good for Australians." Artificial intelligence has been touted as a potential productivity gamechanger. (Getty) While economists have been discussing productivity for decades – the Productivity Commission was established in the late '90s – a few developments have thrust it very firmly into the public eye. That came a week out from the federal government's productivity roundtable (officially the Economic Reform Roundtable), which was announced by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese in June. RBA Governor Michelle Bullock has warned Australians are already feeling the pinch of slowing productivity growth. (Dominic Lorrimer) The roundtable, to be held from August 19-21 in Canberra, will be a three-day discussion involving business and union leaders about how to address stagnating productivity growth. Many of the ideas put forward ahead of the summit have focused on tax (although AI, regulation, and even a four-day working week have also been discussed), following these comments made by Treasurer Jim Chalmers in June. "No sensible progress can be made on productivity, resilience or budget sustainability without proper consideration of more tax reform," he told the National Press Club. "I don't just accept that, I welcome it. Tax is one of many ways our three primary economic challenges are related." Treasurer Jim Chalmers flagged the economic roundtable could lead to tax reform. (Rohan Thomson/AFR) That's the trillion-dollar question. Albanese has been giving mixed messages, at one point ruling out any new tax reform ("the only tax policy that we're implementing is the one that we took to the election") and reminding everyone that he and his ministers get final say on any productivity solutions ("governments make government policy"). But the prime minister has also welcomed the glut of proposals he and Chalmers have been presented with, and has insisted he's "up for big reform" – although it might be something he takes to the next election in 2028. "We're up for discussion, and one of the things I said very clearly was we weren't going to get into the rule-in, rule-out game," he told ABC radio. "We have a big agenda. We were elected with a clear mandate on May 3. That's our priority, delivering on that. "But we're also up for ideas and we're up for things that can be done immediately. If they will improve the economy, then of course we'll give it consideration." Anthony Albanese has ruled out any new tax reform but at the same time said he's open to big ideas. (James Brickwood) Respected economist Richard Holden, who along with independent MP Kate Chaney proposed a revised GST model for the roundtable , said it was crucial that proper reform does come out of the summit. "That's the question: is the upcoming August 19 roundtable going to be a moment for genuinely thinking about bold ideas?" he said. "Or is it going to be another one of these pro-forma... we have three days, we'll put out a press release and we go back to normal? "I hope it's the former." CONTACT US Property News: Rubbish-strewn house overtaken by mould asks $1.2 million.
Sydney Morning Herald
6 hours ago
- Sydney Morning Herald
We've worked hard, got an education, found jobs. But it's not enough
Younger Australians have done what society told us to do. We've worked hard, got an education, and found jobs. Yet, that has not been enough for teachers, nurses, mechanics and countless other workers to achieve financial security. The social contract, the idea that a job is enough to feed and house a family, has been lost. A recent episode of the Diary of a CEO podcast highlighted a vital debate we need to have. It featured rockstar British economist Gary Stevenson and Daniel Priestley, an acclaimed Australian serial entrepreneur. The host, Steven Bartlett, asked both men what advice they would give to young people. Priestley suggested that we focus on entrepreneurship, as the digital economy offers incredible opportunities to create wealth. Stevenson disagreed, arguing that this advice is harmful because, if you can't get ahead, then it must be your fault. Instead, the economic problems we face are structural. Without reforming how our economy works, Stevenson argued, financial and business advice is like giving out stock tips on the Titanic. The most common story we do hear is the one promoted by Priestley, about individual financial success. It's pushed by social media finfluencers, tech bros, and self-help gurus who claim that the pathway to economic security is through speculative property investing, starting a dropshipping business, or investing in the latest cryptocurrency. Movements like 'girlboss' and 'quiet quitting' have sent the message that you have to save yourself in these tough economic times. The key to the social contract working, in whatever form, is that people feel their efforts are rewarded and that they believe the contract is fair. The contract, then, is hanging by a thread. The cultural dominance of individualism, however, perpetuates an economic system that is harming us. It means that avenues for collective action, such as union membership, political party involvement, and volunteering, are in decline. Policy debates pit winners against losers without considering what's best for everyone, and the government and its tax and transfer system are cast as a 'burden'. Loading In contrast, the postwar version of the social contract promoted the idea that, in return for contributing through work, care, and paying taxes, individuals had rights to essentials such as healthcare, housing, and employment security. You could find a stable job paying enough to feed and house your family, retire with a pension, and be assured that your children would have it better. A second version of the social contract was adopted in the 1980s and 1990s. It presented a more individualistic vision aimed at removing the 'shackles' of taxation and regulation. Tax rates on the wealthy were reduced, public services privatised and superannuation introduced to prioritise individual responsibility and private wealth accumulation.
