Due to the ongoing threat posed to the world by climate change, more businesses are taking steps to limit their carbon footprint and create a more sustainable future for themselves.
One way that companies across the globe have been addressing their environmental impact is by updating their corporate fleets, replacing old petrol and diesel cars with state-of-the-art electric vehicles.
Thanks to lower power consumption and their ability to make use of renewable energy sources, electric vehicles represent a huge leap in sustainability and offer businesses an easy way to become more eco-friendly. On top of the environmental benefit there are also business benefits to upgrading to electric vehicles.
Lower maintenance costs
The upfront cost of electric vehicles can vary a lot, and is often fairly high compared to regular vehicles. However, they make up for it with much cheaper maintenance and running costs in the long run. Because there are fewer moving parts involved in an electric vehicle compared to a petrol or diesel one, there’s much less that can be worn down or broken, meaning less maintenance is needed.
In particular, electric car batteries have a much longer life than standard car batteries. For instance, crowd-sourced data indicates that Tesla’s battery will only suffer about 7% degradation even after 250,00 miles.
Even better, the cost of fuelling an electric vehicle is significantly cheaper too. A WhichCar study found that when comparing electric vehicles to their closest petrol or diesel counterpart, annual savings on fuel costs were between $728 and $1456.
More precisely, the Electric Vehicle Council states that compared to a cost per litre of $1.50 when running your car on fossil fuels, electric vehicles cost just $0.33 per “e-litre”. Over a car’s lifespan, this could represent huge savings compared to traditional petrol and diesel vehicles.
Taking advantage of sustainability grants and incentives
As well as the direct running cost savings from switching to e-vehicles, your business can also take advantage of a number of grants, financial incentives and tax breaks to make the switch more affordable. Admittedly, Australia lags behind many other countries when it comes to helping businesses buy into electric vehicles, but there are still a number of ways you can benefit.
Why The Time Is Right For Businesses To Switch To Electric Vehicles
In terms of federal government incentives, the main attraction is a higher threshold for the luxury car tax, increased from $68,740 to $77,565. While this only affects more expensive electric cars such as the Tesla Model 3 Plus, it can still reduce some of the costs involved. In terms of regional incentives, the following apply:
- Australian Capital Territory: No stamp duty when buying new Battery Electric Vehicles; free driver registration for two years; up to $15,000 in interest-free loans to assist in the upfront cost of buying an electric vehicle.
- Queensland: A stamp duty discount on electric vehicles.
- Victoria: Exemption from the luxury vehicle stamp duty; $100 annual driver registration discount; reduced road tax of $0.25 per kilometre.
There’s also potentially more government funding for electric vehicles in the pipeline — the Future Fuels Package has set aside $74.5 million to help businesses and regional centres embrace hydrogen, electric and bio-fuelled vehicles, beginning with a $16.5 million investment in fast-charging infrastructure to make electric vehicles a more viable option to businesses.
In terms of federal government incentives, the main attraction is a higher threshold for the luxury car tax, increased from $68,740 to $77,565. While this only affects more expensive electric cars such as the Tesla Model 3 Plus, it can still reduce some of the costs involved. In terms of regional incentives, the following apply
On top of this, you could seek grants from other organisations dedicated to encouraging electric vehicle usage. For example, the Australian Renewable Energy Agency and Clean Energy Finance Corporation are both open to applications from businesses that want to use electric vehicles to become more sustainable.
Going electric
With lower running and maintenance costs, alongside tax incentives and attractive funding options, switching your company to using electric vehicles is more affordable than ever. Electric vehicles offer a number of benefits — not just environmentally, but also financially. If your business wants to help tackle climate change while also saving money in the long-term, then electric vehicles represent a fantastic opportunity.
