WA auto lobby says ‘lineup anxiety’ to blame for slow electric vehicle adoption

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“Range anxiety” is preventing Western Australians from adopting electric vehicles, according to the WA automotive lobby, with the technology adoption lagging behind other states.

Key Points: WA lags the nation in the adoption of electric vehicles. Owners of electric vehicles should carefully plan long-distance journeys.

Range anxiety is the fear of running out of battery charge before you can find a charging station to recharge, similar to running out of gas before reaching a gas station, and the state government of Washington thinks he’s to blame for the slow adoption of electric vehicles. .

“Electric vehicle adoption has been relatively low compared to the rest of the country and the world, mainly because Western Australia is a very large state and people fear running out of charge while driving in the region. ‘Western Australia,’ Environment Minister Amber-Jade said. Sanderson said.

WA Minister of the Environment Amber-Jade Sanderson says WA is a special case because of its vastness. (ABC Perth: Emma Wynne)

In 2021, electric vehicles made up 1.57% of car sales nationwide, but in WA they were only 0.8%. This means that less than 2,000 Western Australians own an electric vehicle.

Long EV trips require foresight

Dr Kylie Sterry is one of them.

Kylie Sterry lives in Kalgoorlie and says her electric vehicle is perfect as a second car. (Provided: Kylie Sterry)

Dr Sterry lives in Kalgoorlie and said she bought her electric vehicle primarily for shorter trips but said she regularly drives her electric vehicle in Esperance and Perth and has also driven it along the coast from Perth to Carnarvon.

“I do a lot of very short trips around town, like a lot of country people, and hated knowing that every time I got in my car I was burning fossil fuels and contributing to environmental pollution. “says Dr Sterry.

But when she drives from Kalgoorlie to Perth, she has to stop somewhere to recharge.

It takes between 15 and 45 minutes to charge an EV at these fast charging stations. (ABC News: Greg Pollock)

And taking a longer trip is something she needs to think about ahead of time.

“You have to plan that the car will be charged when you leave, you can’t just suddenly decide, ‘today I’m going to take a trip to Perth’, and you have to plan how long you’re going to stop for and where you are going. go stop and if there will be food available or if you are taking food with you, ”she said.

Bumps in the road

Rhys Heron of RAC said a recent member survey found that nearly half of respondents would consider buying an electric or hybrid vehicle as their next car, but more EV charging stations would be key to responding. to their concerns.

There are approximately 400 public charging stations in WA.

The RAC has already invested in electric vehicle chargers and the state government will now shell out $ 21 million to build 90 more. (ABC News: Bill Lawrie)

“Right now we’re seeing a lot of charging points between Perth and the South West and the Deep South and it’s really great,” he said.

“But if you want to go from Perth to, say, Kununurra, that’s another story. There is a little problem with electric vehicle charging stations in our northern areas where there can be hundreds of miles between charging stations. “

While the appetite for electric vehicles is there, Mr. Heron said there is an opportunity for government and private companies to step up and focus on vehicle charging infrastructure.

The Washington state government is proposing $ 21 million to build Australia’s longest electric vehicle charging network by 2024.

Electric vehicles can travel up to 500 km when fully charged. (ABC News: Greg Pollock)

It will have 90 fast-charging stations at 45 locations from Kununurra in the north to Esperance in the south and east of Kalgoorlie.

Electric vehicles can travel between 260 km and 500 km when fully charged.

These new charging stations will be built approximately 168 km from each other, close enough for a fully charged electric vehicle to travel between them.

When announcing the new charging network, Ms Sanderson said stations will be located around regional towns so people can stop and grab a coffee while they charge their cars.

“This will help relieve some anxiety that is fairly reasonable in scope for Western Australia,” Sanderson said.

It will take between 15 and 45 minutes to charge an EV at these fast charging stations.

‘You can stop and smell the roses’

At the moment, when Dr Sterry drives from Kalgoorlie to Perth, she has three options to stop at Southern Cross, Merredin or Northam.

“The tourist center of Merredin kindly put a Tesla charger so we often stop there,” she said.

Charging takes around 2 hours, but Dr Sterry said it’s not a bad thing.

Electric vehicles can be recharged by plugging into a regular power outlet, but it can take a few days to fully charge. (ABC News: Greg Pollock)

“We have lunch or dinner, we walk around town, we spend money in the local community while we charge,” she said.

“Last time around, we watched a movie on the Tesla screen in the car while we had dinner as if we were going to a drive-in theater.

“It’s definitely a longer ride, but it’s so much more relaxing and you can really stop and smell the roses a bit, which I think is one of the real perks of having an EV.”

Dr Sterry said all of that would change when the new fast-charging stations were built and it would only take 15 minutes to recharge.

Other incentives needed to make electric vehicles attractive

Besides range anxiety, there are other barriers to electric vehicle adoption in Western Australia.

The high initial cost and the limited range of electric vehicles on offer are significant.

Rhys Heron of RAC said the state government could do more to encourage motorists to consider electric vehicles.

“We know there are investments in charging infrastructure, but there are also opportunities for governments to consider financial incentives, so things like reduced registration fees, or even direct subsidies for electric vehicles. “

He said this is already happening in other states and territories.

Dr Sterry agreed that financial incentives would help.

“Stamp duty in WA is so expensive it would be great to see the government offer some form of registration rebate or something to help people,” she said.

The southwest of Washington State is better supplied with charging stations than the northwest. (ABC News: Katrin Long)

“I think the upfront cost of EVs is what turns off a lot of people, but the running costs are so much lower, so if we could do something to lower that upfront cost for people, I think it would definitely increase the cost to people. ‘adoption of electric vehicles and get people on the line. “

She said the people most excited to see her car around Kalgoorlie were people between the ages of 10 and 20.

“I think a lot of people in their twenties would like to buy an electric vehicle, they care about the environment, they see the difference, they care about technology but this is an expensive first car.”

Long-range electric vehicles are classified as luxury vehicles and have a high price tag. (ABC News: Greg Pollock)

She said the long-range model, like her car, was still classified as a luxury vehicle and therefore subject to luxury vehicle tax.

She said she believed the federal government should drop this tax.

“Because I don’t think they’re expensive because they’re luxurious, they’re expensive because they’re new technology.”

The RAC also suggested having free parking spaces for electric vehicles.

Ms Sanderson said that as the combustion engine was to be phased out by manufacturers, customers would increasingly choose to buy electric vehicles.

“So financial incentives are not being actively considered at this time. Instead, we are preparing our electrical system to ensure we can integrate hundreds of thousands of electric vehicles over the next decade,” she said. declared.

The road ahead

Dr Sterry said that for his family, the electric vehicle was particularly useful as a second car.

“I think the evidence shows that the majority of people drive around 30 kilometers a day,” she said.

Kylie Sterry and her family have taken the car on trips as far as Carnarvon. (Provided: Kylie Sterry)

“The car you use to run to drop the kids off at school, to go shopping [could be an EV], but for a while, people might need to keep their large family car or SUV for their vacation, ”she said.

She mainly charges her car from the solar panels on the roof of her office.

But getting a taste of the long drive to Carnarvon, she said the dream was to drive through Nullarbor.

“But it takes about five days, I think, because of the slow chargers.”

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