100 companies support electric car changes

More than 100 organisations, from farming and finance firms to IKEA and Uber, are calling for major changes to electric vehicle policies in Australia, including a new target to put one million electric cars on roads within five years.

The call comes as submissions close on the federal government's National Electric Vehicle Strategy consultation paper today after four weeks of feedback.

The organisations, led by the Electric Vehicle Council, are calling for six national policy changes.

They include the introduction of a fuel efficiency standard, as well as greater investment in electric vehicle manufacturing, a co-ordinated car-charging network in suburbs and regions, greater support for electric buses, trucks and commercial vehicles, and economic modelling on the potential benefits of electric vehicles.

EV Council chief executive Behyad Jafari said the changes were overdue "after a long period of policy stagnation" that had seen Australia fall behind the rest of the world in EV adoption.

Electric vehicles currently make up 3.39 per cent of cars sold in Australia. In the UK, they make up 16.9 per cent.

"Australian business understands that transport should be doing its share of heavy lifting on the path to net zero," he said.

"If we don't put a big dent in our transport emissions by getting more EVs on the roads, it will put unsustainable pressure on other sectors like farming, manufacturing, construction, mining and energy.

"If we get this EV Strategy right, the opportunities are enormous. We could be employing tens of thousands of Australians building batteries, chargers, cars, buses, and trucks."

The list of companies and community groups supporting the changes include energy firms AGL, Amber and Origin, transport companies Europcar, Hertz, Linfox, MG, Volvo and Uber, as well as Woolworths, IKEA Australia, and Farmers for Climate Action.

IKEA fulfilment sourcing manager Brendan Groll said the furniture giant supported the introduction of "a strong, national EV strategy" targeting freight vehicles as a way to give Australians "sustainable delivery options".

Greenpeace Australia Pacific senior transport campaigner Lindsay Soutar said she wasn't surprised the organisations had united for change after a big response to the government's consultation paper from its members.

"It's been overwhelming and speaks to the level of community interest and demand for electric vehicles," she said.

"We have had a massive amount of interest from the community and it's sending a very clear message to the government."

Ms Soutar said she hoped the federal government would recognise community support for a fuel emissions standard following the consultation -- a change she said could quickly boost the number of electric vehicles imported to Australia.

But many of Austraila's biggest car brands did not sign the EV Council's pledge and could oppose ambitious fuel efficiency targets in their feedback.

In calling for submissions, Federal Energy Minister Chris Bowen said the 18-page document was designed to "inform the right policy settings so we can see more affordable electric vehicles on our roads".

If agreed upon, the government could introduce new electric vehicle policies and standards as soon as early 2024.