Australian insurers are opting to write off electric cars, rather than repair them

A study has found that rising insurance premiums are one of the challenges facing drivers who want to switch from a conventional car to an electric vehicle.

As costs rise, insurers are “choosing depreciation over repair” due to limited access to spare parts and a shortage of mechanics, Australian Electric Vehicle Association national chairman Christopher Jones said in Canberra on Friday.

Another obstacle was the ban on charging electric vehicles in apartment car parks, with the association calling for a ‘right to charge’ for everyone.

As the development of a second-hand market has been slowed, many electric vehicles (EVs) have ended up at auction because the lack of battery health certification has deterred potential buyers, the first public hearing of a parliamentary inquiry into the EV transition has been told.

Australian Automotive Aftermarket Association chief executive Stuart Charity said governments were neglecting maintenance and repairs as they focused primarily on the price and supply of new vehicles.

He said 14 percent of workshops are ready for electric vehicles, with almost a quarter (24 percent) planning to be ready in the next 12 months.

But cost and lack of training — and the lack of trainers — have been barriers to electric vehicle maintenance, especially in regional and rural areas, he said.

“To ensure the Australian public continues to engage … the government needs to ensure the infrastructure is in place and that people who buy an electric car have a good experience and that their first electric car is not their last,” he said.

Samuel Marks, chief policy officer at the National Road Transport Association, said there was no silver bullet for truck drivers but that electricity would play a major role in decarbonising freight.

However, the cost barriers were significant, with electric trucks costing two to three times as much, and charging infrastructure was largely non-existent, he said.

Another obstacle was the ban on charging electric vehicles in apartment car parks, with the association calling for a ‘right to charge’ for everyone

Mr Marks said the government should seek financial help to support uptake, that hydrogen fuel cell trucks should be included in any subsidies and that there should be a national strategy for fuel station infrastructure.

“There’s a big chicken and egg problem… people don’t want to provide the charging infrastructure because there are no trucks on the road and people don’t want to buy the trucks because they can’t charge,” he said. .

As with cars and trucks, there was also a broader need for skilled mechanics to service future trucks, especially in regional areas.

He said hydrogen is important despite its lower efficiency compared to electric trucks because hydrogen vehicles can carry more weight and potentially have a longer range.

The challenge with hydrogen was the cost of producing the fuel, making it difficult to achieve parity with electricity, although subsidies announced in the last Budget would help, he said.

Legal barriers to larger, low-emission trucks on the road were also a concern. Differences arose between the states.