Renewable Energy Could Fuel Electric Car Sales In Australia – QUT

As Australia’s energy debate heats up, particularly supply issues and future energy sources, a bystander in the debate could be the electric vehicle.

Nissan in particular has been vocal on the lack of state and federal government incentives (virtually zero) in Australia to encourage the uptake of EVs, but the Queensland University of Technology (QUT) has learned that the means of supplying the required electricity may also be an issue for potential customers.

A study found customers were mostly attracted to the ‘green’ credentials of EVs, even to the exclusion of purchase price and shortened ranges (‘range anxiety’).

“High purchase costs and short driving ranges have been considered to be the main factors which impede people’s decision to buy electric vehicles,” QUT Business School’s Dr Kenan Degirmenci said.

“Since electricity needs to be produced from renewable energy sources for electric vehicles to be a true green alternative, the environmental performance has also been presumed to be a factor.”

The study took place in Germany, comprising interviews with 40 customers and 167 would-be customers who test drove electric cars.

Study