A fourth change will adjust the weight limit that determines how the emission targets apply,a small shift that will help SUVs and similar vehicles. Because electric vehicles have the added weight of large batteries,this change may also help those models.
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Bowen and King set out an initial plan to require car makers not to exceed 141 grams of carbon dioxide a kilometre from passenger vehicles and 199 grams from utes and vans next year across all new vehicles sold. The targets were meant to fall annually to reach 58 and 91 grams per kilometre by 2030.
The original target assumed a 61 per cent fall in carbon intensity for passenger vehicles over five years,triggering a ferocious response from industry executives who said no country had achieved that outcome. The modified plan achieves a similar target for passenger vehicles.
For light commercial vehicles,however,the revised plan achieves an emissions reduction of about 50 per cent over five years,a more modest outcome than the original figure of about 60 per cent.
The revised plan,developed by Bowen and King over the past few weeks after consultation with the industry,keeps about 80 to 90 per cent of the cuts to carbon emissions by 2050,according to government officials.
The policy is not a tax. It offers credits to cleaner vehicles such as EVs,while requiring the makers of fuel-intensive vehicles like SUVs to buy those credits or pay a penalty to the government.
While Opposition Leader Peter Dutton has called the policy a “ute tax” and warned that some vehicles could cost $25,000 more,the modelling to support that claim has sparked disputes within the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries,the source of the estimates. Members Tesla and Polestar havequit the FCAI,while Volkswagen has distanced itself from the claims.
Asked on Tuesday if the policy was a ute tax,Toyota Australia chief Matthew Callachor said:“No,the actual policy is directed at reducing the overall emissions in the economy.”
Motor Trades Association of Australia chief executive Matt Hobbs cautiously welcomed the government’s changes,saying “nobody gets everything they want” and the outcome reflected the US changes.
“And from my perspective,it’s a workable compromise,” he said.
Because car makers can bank credits for up to three years,Hobbs estimated they were unlikely to pay penalties in the first three years of the scheme.
The Resolve Political Monitor found that 38 per cent of voters were aware of the “New Vehicle Efficiency Standard” plan,but 62 per cent were unaware of it despite the heavy criticism of the government in parts of the media because of the industry reaction to the emission cuts.
A broader question asked voters about the goal of the federal policy and found no clear majority for change.
It found that 31 per cent of voters preferred the idea of leaving it to car makers to make their vehicles more efficient over time,while 12 per cent said the government should stick to the original fuel standards plan.
Another 18 per cent said the fuel standards should be delayed by a year or two to ensure the market was ready,while 14 per cent said it should be redesigned to make slower cuts to emissions over time.
The results have a margin of error of 2.4 percentage points.
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