A Horsham electric car driver says there need to be tax incentives if more people are to buy the vehicles.
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It comes as the state government has confirmed it will decide on the location for an electric vehicle charging station in Horsham in the first half of 2020.
The government has also opened consultation on its draft Zero Emissions Vehicle Roadmap, which will ultimately guide the infrastructure and support it provides to get more electric vehicles on the roads.
Andrew Frahn bought his Tesla Model 3 vehicle three months ago, and regularly drives it to Melbourne and across Western Victoria. He said it was "a stretch" to purchase an electric vehicle.
"Not only did it cost over $25,000 more than a similar petrol car, I got docked all the additional Luxury Car Tax and stamp duty," he said.
"I hope to justify this expense in savings. A petrol car costs about 10 cents per kilometre to drive. If I use superchargers my vehicle costs about 7.5 cents and if I charge at home, off peak, about three."
Tesla has installed electric vehicle chargers behind Horsham's Gateway shopping complex and at Horsham International Hotel.
In 2019, industry body Infrastructure Partnerships Australia recommended governments implement schemes to charging road users driving electric vehicles "up to four cents per kilometre", while there were still relatively few on the road.
"Without reform, fewer road users - particularly those who cannot afford a new vehicle or motorists in regional areas who drive vast distances - will increasingly subsidise electric vehicle motorists," its report said.
Mr Frahn said he would not have bought an electric vehicle if the tax had been in place.
"I stretched my budget really hard to get into a EV, and I do 60,000km a year," he said. "If they added the road tax to it, that extra $2500 a year is going to more than hurt.
"When prices (for electric and petrol or diesel vehicles) hit parity, there will (be) no need for tax breaks, but owners such as me should be grandfathered."
In a report from August, the federal Bureau of Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Economics estimated 27 per cent of all vehicles sold in Australia in 2030 would be electric-powered, compared to less than five per cent in 2020.
Mr Frahn said lack of infrastructure was also an issue, but not necessarily one it was the government's job to resolve.
"Not ever needing to fuel up is a huge positive. If I plug the car in when I get home, it's ready to go the next day," he said.
"But if I'm to go to Ouyen, I can't make a detour, I wouldn't get home. I would need to continue all the way to Mildura, or stop for several hours at someone willing to lend me a powerpoint."
"Tesla has its own chargers, that only Tesla (vehicles) can use. They charge very fast, think 350km range added in 30 min. Teslas can use these, as well as any other type of public charger," he said.
"Any other make (of electric vehicle) and it's a very different story. The NRMA (has) done an amazing job in NSW - a charger in every second town... enough to link everywhere for any car. If Victoria had that, the range issue is gone."
Mr Frahn said he expected more chargers to come as more vehicles were sold.
The Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning's website describes the charging stations it is installing as being fully powered by renewable energy and capable of fully charging an electric vehicle with a range of up to 400 kilometres in under 15 minutes.
Along with Horhsam, stations will be added to Euroa, Torquay, Ballarat, Barnawatha, Melbourne and the La Trobe Valley.
A DELWP spokeswoman said the location and installation date for the Horsham charging site was yet to be confirmed.
"Horsham was chosen as an appropriate Victorian charging site due to it being strategically located, in conjunction with Ballarat, along the Western freeway enabling zero emissions vehicles to travel from Melbourne to Adelaide," she said.
DELWP's website says people wanting to make comments on the transition to zero emissions vehicles can email zev@delwp.vic.gov.au.
The Mail-Times has contacted a Horsham car dealer for comment on whether the number of hybrids it is selling is increasing.
A spokeswoman for the Department of Treasury did not directly answer questions on whether it is considering charging electric vehicle drivers.
She said electric passenger vehicles now pay the lowest rate of motor vehicle duty regardless of the value of the vehicle, and that certain hybrid or electric vehicles are also eligible for registration discounts.
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