We remember when governments claimed diesel engines were “green” because they used less fuel and emitted less CO2. How times have changed. Now electric vehicles are “green” and diesels have fallen from grace. Even so, buyers may not be convinced that EVs are quite as green as they first appear. Read More
Electric vehicles
Hybrid vigour – time to buy one
The chances of seeing a hybrid in Australia are still quite slim. Only 4,000 hybrid vehicles are on our roads, a mere 0.1% of new vehicle sales. Kiwis are already driving that same number of hybrids, even though their population is a fifth of ours. What is holding us back?
First of all, we don’t know what they are. Second, they seem too expensive anyway. Read More
Charging into the future
Electric vehicles (EVs) are not big sellers in Australia yet. In 2016 we bought only 1,369 EVs, a drop from 1,771 in 2015. Even then, most were plug-in hybrids, rather than all-electric vehicles. Yet carmakers say the future is electric. Recent moves by countries like China and the UK to limit or ban petrol and diesel suggest it’s true. Read More
Electric vehicles are humming right now
How many electric vehicles (EVs) have you seen on the road? Probably not many. Sales of EVs in Australia dropped 23% in 2016: only 701 plug-in hybrids and 668 fully electric. In September 2017, Australians bought 100,200 cars and only 93 were pure EVs while 907 were hybrids. No wonder the NRMA and Electric Vehicle Council (EVC) wants action to encourage us to go out and buy them. Read More
Why electric vehicles need a plug
Unless you are a motor enthusiast, you might not know much about electric vehicles (EVs). With so few of them driving on Australian roads, you might wonder if there is something wrong with them. In fact, by far the biggest problem is price. And second, the Australian government offers little incentive to pay extra for electric cars.
Hybrid cars on the way
Hybrid cars – love them or hate them.
Thanks to rising petrol costs, changing lifestyle needs and lower purchasing prices, hybrids are now a real part of the Australian motoring industry.