Tasmania announces two-year waived stamp duty on EVs

THE Tasmanian state government has seen in the new financial year by announcing a new two-year waiving of electric vehicle stamp duties, which it says should save EV buyers an average of $2000 at the time of purchase.

Effective as of July 1, the new strategy was announced by State Premier and Minister for Climate Change Peter Gutwein, who said it would encourage prospective EV customers to make the switch to electric mobility.

“Tasmania is ideally suited to benefit from the transition to EVs with our clean, low-cost and reliable renewable energy, while at the same time reducing our dependence on imported fuels,” he said.

“I encourage all those interested to investigate making the switch, and to take advantage of this policy.”

While far from the $490 million strategy announced recently by the New South Wales state government, the waiving has initially been well received by the local automotive industry and praised by its peak body, the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries (FCAI).

FCAI chief executive Tony Weber said this was “the kind of action we need from our leaders” but reiterated that a national approach was still sorely needed.

“Consistency is the critical element for Australian customers. If States introduce their own programs, they must align,” he said.

“Otherwise, the result will be another disjointed and chaotic system like the introduction of different rail gauges across the country.

He also said the government should be focussing on setting achievable CO2 emissions targets rather than just technologies.

“If governments set the targets, the carmakers will deliver the range of vehicles into the market that achieve the environmental outcomes and meet the needs of Australian motorists,” he added.

It remains to be seen if any other states or territories follow the examples being set by Tasmania, NSW, the ACT and Victoria, with Mr Weber’s calls for national consistency echoed by various manufacturers and industry bodies including Volkswagen, the Electric Vehicle Council of Australia, Kia and Volvo.

According to the latest round of VFACTS data, the popularity of electric vehicles is on the rise with 858 units sold across the first six months of 2021 compared to 415 over the same period last year.

These figures exclude Tesla, which does not report local sales figures although it has been estimated that around 4500 of the Californian brand’s EVs were delivered in the first half of this year, a significant uptick on the 3000-3500 units it sold here in the whole of 2020.