The Solar Citizens held the Electric Ute Roadshow on April 3 in the nation’s capital on Ngunnawal and Ngambri. In addition to promoting the LDV eT60, it stirred some controversy by urging the consideration of national fuel efficiency standards.
During the event, politicians received a copy of the Solar Citizens Recharging Australia report along with a chauffeured ute ride.
First ride
Kylea Tink, a Teale independent and representative for North Sydney, was the first MP to ride in the ute. Heidi Lee Douglas, the national director of Solar Citizens, greeted her before the ride.
Heidi would inform them of the Recharging Australia report while ensuring the media team took a few great pictures. They would then be driven around in the eT60 ute by Regional Clean Transport Organiser Ben, Clean Transport Campaigner Ajaya Haikerwal, and any willing advisors.
“Ben drove us around both new and old Parliament Houses, driving carefully whilst doing his best to show them the incredible acceleration potential of the ute going up the hill.
From the back seat, I would ask questions and answer them, with Josh chipping in occasionally to get a slightly more emotive response for the videos he was capturing.”
Ajaya Haikerwal, Clean Transport Campaigner
Main concerns
The typical questions were asked, such as “Where do you charge it? Can it tow? How far could it drive? And what was the price? The topic included everything from manufacturing prospects to vehicle pollution and health effects, as well as charging infrastructure and mobility in general.
The team felt it was crucial to emphasize that while this is Australia’s first electric ute, it won’t be the last. There are already a lot of utes in other nations, such as the Ford F-150 Lightning and Rivian EVs in the United States, among others.
The report noted that Ford has shown a desire to quickly expand its EV lineup to Australia. The American automaker just introduced the F-150 Lightning in Norway. Indeed, the development of EVs is a technology that is advancing quickly.
Main objective achieved
Ajaya and the team repeatedly insisted that Australia needed strict fuel efficiency standards to entice global automakers to export their electric vehicles to the country.
The program seems to be a success, as the team reported to have received an email on the morning of April 24, 2023:
“Good news! Just this morning, Energy Minister Chris Bowen and Transport Minister Catherine King launched Australia’s first National Electric Vehicle Strategy (NEVS), which includes a commitment to establish a Fuel Efficiency Standard by the end of 2023. This is a huge step forward that our community campaign has been pivotal in winning!”
In 2022, the federal government conducted a consultation procedure, to which 607 solar citizens requested various things, such as “a strong Fuel Efficiency Standard, transport powered by renewable energy, local electric vehicle (EV) manufacturing, increased subsidies, and mode shift. Over 95% of all the responses the Federal Government received to the NEVS consultation were in support of a Fuel Efficiency Standard.”
The Electric Ute Road Show was running like a well-oiled machine, according to Ajaya Haikerwal. They visited with a range of MPs and senators throughout their day in Canberra from the opposition (Liberal/Nations), crossbench (Teales, Independents, and Greens), and government (Labor), handing them copies of the report and offering test drives in the ute.
See Also:
- South Australia drops pay-per-kilometer tax for EVs
- Australia to impose vehicle pollution standards to accelerate its EV adoption
- 50% of people would like to switch to EVs in Australia, per a study
- Australia’s EV market is growing with more affordable models
- Light EV fleet surged to 83,000 units in Australia in 2022; BEVs accounted for 79%
The fossil fuel sector and its vehicle importers will undoubtedly exert significant pressure on the nation’s capital to undermine the standard and postpone what must eventually happen. All that said, the Australian government must stand its ground and establish ambitious fuel efficiency rules that are on par with those in New Zealand.
Below is a video of Kylea’s test ride in Canberra:
