It’s taken some time, but Australia’s adoption of New Vehicle Efficiency Standards took a step forward on budget night, with the announcement that $154 million will be spent over six years introducing it, with $12.6 million annually after that.
The new standards bring Australia into line with the rest of the developed world, with only Russia still an outlier without standards.
The money will establish the regulator to administer it, and support the building of EV charging infrastructure at vehicle businesses to help with selling and servicing EVs.
EV price war
That infrastructure will be needed if EV sales start moving as expected as a result of the current price war. In the last few weeks, we’ve seen some big price cuts on EVs in response to slowing sales in the face of growing production. That’s caught EV makers with stock that’s not moving, and an imperative to sell them. Naturally, that’s great news for those looking to a new EV.
Leading the way has been Peugeot, who’ve slashed the price of their e-2008 electric SUV by an astonishing $25,000. That brings it down to $39,990 before on road costs, making it competitive with Chinese rivals, like the MG4 and GWM Ora.
But Peugeot is anything but alone, because BYD has slashed $5,000 off the price of near new demos of its Atto 3 Extended Range, making them $45,990, though there are a few strings attached to the offer.
The competition just keeps getting hotter at the budget end of the market. GWM’s Ora Standard Range is now just $35,990. It comes with 310km of range, which should prove fine for most city owners.
But in a volatile market, MG4 has bucked the trend, with a rise of $1,000 for 2024 plated models. However, those with a taste for the MG4’s wild child X-Power variant can still get their “oh-my-God!” acceleration kicks for just $59,990 drive-away.
Tesla
Tesla isn’t standing still, either. It’s knocked eight percent off the price of its Model 3 Rear Wheel Drive, bringing it down to $58,900. But there have been price cuts across the board at Tesla, with the Model 3 Performance now at $80,900, and the Model Y Long Range AWD down six per cent to $68,500.
It’s a sure sign that EV prices are rapidly plunging towards parity with internal combustion vehicles. But if you’re a wage and salary earner who’s a permanent employee, then you can get your hands on the EV of your choice right now with a money saving novated lease.
With a Fleetcare novated lease you can get behind the wheel of the futuristic BYD Dolphin Dynamic for just $159 per week. That’s a saving of $3,535 from the vehicle purchase price. It’s just one of the tempting offers in our Novated Lease EV showroom right now, ranging from the versatile Mitsubishi Eclipse Cross ES to the stylish Polestar 4 Long Range.
To find out more about a money-saving novated lease on the EV of your choice, contact Fleetcare today on 134 333.