Electric joy rides in Canberra to support fuel standard

Don't be surprised if you see politicians zipping around Canberra in an electric hatchback.

A group called the Parliamentary Friends of Electric Vehicles will join with community and industry groups to host an electric transport roundtable in the nation's capital on Tuesday, and offer interested parliamentarians the chance to test drive a BYD Dolphin electric car.

But Solar Citizens chief executive Heidi Douglas said the gathering would be about more than joy rides, as the groups were keen to support the introduction of fuel-efficiency standards to reduce transport costs and pollution.

The gathering comes just a week before consultations close on three proposals for a New Vehicle Efficiency Standard, which the federal government could introduce in January.

Ms Douglas said the rules were overdue and their absence meant Australian motorists were paying too much to fuel vehicles that were not as efficient as those sold overseas.

"We really, desperately need this new vehicle efficiency standard as soon as possible to secure cost-of-living benefits and climate benefits for everyday Australians," she said.

"This is about bringing more affordable vehicles to Australia - not just electric vehicles but internal combustion and hybrid engine vehicles."

Ms Douglas said the issue should be treated as an apolitical issue after modelling showed a fuel standard could save consumers significant amounts on the cost of operating a motor vehicle.

Government modelling for a fuel-efficiency standard proposed by the Coalition government in 2016, for example, showed it could have saved consumers $27.5 billion in fuel costs between 2020 and 2025, with net benefits of $13.9 billion.

"We've lost billions of dollars in savings since then," Ms Douglas said.

"We need the cost-of-living benefits and we can't afford to keep being locked out because of some sort of silly climate wars."

A fuel-efficiency standard would work by setting an emissions limit across a manufacturer's fleet of cars, ensuring they balanced high-polluting vehicles with low-emission models.

Most developed countries have a fuel-efficiency standard in place, with Australia and Russia among the only nations without one.

However, federal Opposition Leader Peter Dutton has called the standard a "new tax on cars and utes," and claimed the price of some vehicles would "go up dramatically" if automakers sold the same vehicles in Australia in future years, as they did in 2023.

The Parliamentary Friends of Electric Vehicles group will be hosted by independent MP Dr Monique Ryan and Labor MP Dr Michelle Ananda-Rajah, and will joined by representatives from the Electric Vehicle Council, Origin, Good Car Company and Transurban.

Public consultation on a fuel-efficiency standard is due to close on March 4.