Qld Govt announces multimillion-dollar EV package

The Queensland Government has announced a $55 million package that includes thousands of dollars in clean energy transport incentives. $45 million will go towards $3000 incentives for upfront electric vehicle purchases (to the value of $58,000 per vehicle), while the remaining $10 million will be devoted to charging infrastructure. Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk made the announcement while releasing the new Queensland Zero Emission Vehicle Strategy 2022–2032, designed to help drive the state’s commitment to net zero by 2050.

Transport and Main Roads Minister Mark Bailey said Queensland was the first Australian state to develop an EV strategy, and was once again leading the way with its Zero Emission Vehicle Strategy 2022–2032. “Not only does this encourage people to buy electric vehicles, it gives the automotive industry confidence to set up shop in Queensland. This strategy signals a fundamental shift in our transport system,” he said.

Bailey said Queensland was already seeing the benefits of the state government’s commitment to making every new urban bus added to the SEQ fleet zero-emission by 2025. “We’ve seen local manufacturers like Bustech at Burleigh and Volgren in Eagle Farm thrive since we made that commitment, because it gave them certainty,” he said.

“Brisbane-based Tritium was supported by Queensland’s first EV strategy and is now excelling into the US electric vehicle market — demonstrating the power behind the EV sector.”

Energy, Renewables and Hydrogen Minister Mick de Brenni said putting more EVs on the road was just one part of the strategy to achieve Queensland’s emissions reductions targets.

“We are working now on building rules that would transform the family EV into the family battery — plugging into solar at work, or in major carparks, charging up when the sun is shining — and then, with bidirectional charging capacity, putting electricity back into the home when the sun has set or the wind isn’t blowing,” he said.

“The strategy outlines that we have already commenced complementary reforms to tariffs, building rules and planning approaches, and the electricity grid augmentation an EV transformation will require; all of which will be further outlined in the forthcoming Queensland Energy Plan.”

For more information, visit https://www.qld.gov.au/transport/projects/electricvehicles/zero-emission-strategy.

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