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New South Wales overtakes others in 2021 electric vehicles policy ratings

NEW SOUTH WALES has topped the Electric Vehicle Council (EVC) policy scorecard ratings for the first time, with a rating of 9/10. The ratings are contained in EVC's State of Electric Vehicles 2021 report, launched today.

The report also found 8,688 electric vehicles were sold in the first half of 2021, already eclipsing the 6,900 electric vehicles sold over the whole of 2020.

The NSW Government introduced its nation-leading Electric Vehicle Strategy this year. NSW narrowly beat the ACT (8/10) and the Northern Territory and Tasmania (7/10). 

Queensland, South Australia, Victoria and Western Australia all scored 6/10. The EVC rated the Federal Government the lowest, rated 3/10, after "failing to make meaningful inroads in line with other comparable jurisdictions around the world".

Electric Vehicle Council chief executive Behyad Jafari said with the global shift now undeniable, the question for Australia was one of speed.

"When you consider the rhetoric that was being pushed last federal election, the EV discussion in this country has come a long way quite quickly," Mr Jafari said.

"New South Wales has introduced Australia’s best electric vehicle policy to date. That $500 million of investment and package of incentives to accelerate the uptake of zero emissions vehicles is finally something comparable with jurisdictions overseas. I know the whole industry is buoyant about the effect it will have on electric vehicle availability and sales.

"The movement across most states and territories is now generally positive and that's providing greater confidence to private sector investors, which will pave the way for more places to charge and better services to support e-mobility.

"The chief headwind at the moment is, unfortunately, a continued lack of leadership on electric vehicles at the federal level. After promising a national strategy two years ago, the Federal Government has failed to deliver," he said.

"We need to see more electric vehicle models in Australia, particularly at lower price points. That's happening slowly, but if we want to accelerate the process and attract the globally limited electric vehicle supply, we need policies enacted at the national level, like fuel efficiency standards.

"Australia has more to gain than most countries on electric vehicles. If transition well we'll be able to meet our net zero goals, break our dependency of foreign oil, and improve our air quality." 

 

ARENA's funding for fast charging stations across Australia lauded

THE Electric Vehicle Council has welcomed a $24.55 million commitment announced by the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) to expand Australia’s fast charging network for electric vehicles (EVs).

The funding will be distributed to five charging infrastructure companies – Evie Networks, Ampol, Engie, Chargefox, and Electric Highways Tasmania. The companies will build 127 fast-charging stations in NSW, 106 in Victoria, 86 in Queensland, 33 in WA, 29 is SA, 10 in Tasmania, nine in the ACT and three in the Northern Territory.

Electric Vehicle Council chief executive Behyad Jafari said the charging infrastructure announcement was important on a number of levels.

"Obviously these new fast charging stations will provide a practical benefit to EV drivers, but beyond that they will also have a powerful effect on consumer sentiment," Mr Jafari said. 

"We know Australians are very interested in buying electric cars, but there is hesitancy about whether or not the government will back them with infrastructure and supportive regulation. 

"The highly visible construction of hundreds of new fast charging stations across the country should send a powerful message to consumers about the viability and practicality of making the switch to a zero-emission vehicle.

"Mass electric vehicle uptake is strongly in Australia's national interest, given it will clean the air of toxic pollutants, reduce our carbon emissions, and relive our dependence on foreign oil imports.

"If the Federal Government wants to seize the benefits of accelerating EV uptake, it should support this fast charging initiatives through consumer incentives and introducing long-overdue fuel emission standards, akin to those enforced in the US and the EU."

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Rare Holden Torana A9X breaks into record price territory

AN EXTREMELY rare Holden Torana A9X Hatch, one of only 33 ever built and with only 475km on the odometer, has sold for more than $800,000 at auction this weekend, breaking Australian records.

Selling under the hammer at Lloyds Auction House, Holden Torana A9X was subject to a bidding battle between an online and a phone bidder that lasted for over 15 minutes on the single car alone.

“We are not surprised at this result because this is the holy grail of Holden motor collector cars in the country and since the closure of Holden, they have only become all the more popular,” Lloyds Auctions. chief operations officer Lee Hames said. 

"The last Holden Torana A9X GMP&A model that sold at Lloyds, for $500,000 in 2018, shows the significant increase in Holden values in just over two years.

"The Torana has a verified 475km on the clock from new and is arguably one of the most sort after Australian muscle cars in the country. It is build one of just 33 in existence and was the last model of Holden racing before the V8 Commodores began.

"In the last 6-12 months, we have seen rare and significant Holdens increase in value, where the very last Holden off the production line sold for $750,000, a Harvey A9X Torana sold for $910,000 and a special one-of-four Holden Maloo Ute sold for $1,100,000 in January," Mr Hames said. "Now this one of only 33 Torana A9Xs has broken records for over three quarters of a million dollars.  

"These Holden cars are continuously getting rarer to come across, and the demand is seemingly unending."

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Iconic special edition Holden Commodores may break price records

THEY ARE two of the lowest kilometre original mid-80s Holden Commodores left in Australia, and the VL Walkinshaw and VN SS Group A cars are expected to fetch over $1 million at auction this weekend.

“Who knows what these cars will sell for? They are already fetching well into six figures due to their limited build and extremely low kilometres, but we must remember the effect of the Holden closure in Australia where we have seen a trend of records broken since they closed,” Lloyds Auctions chief operations officer Lee Harmes said. 

“When selecting cars for their potential to increase in value it is important to tick several boxes, namely, rarity, heritage, and desirability. The VN Commodore SS Group A up for auction ticks all those boxes."

The iconic VN Group A SS is build number 180 of only 302 constructed in Australia, making it a highly sought-after Holden.

The VL Walkinshaw is in complete original condition and is arguably the most collectable VL Walkinshaw in the country, Mr Harmes said, having travelled just over 1400km.

It was known that in Group A racing any carmaker wishing to compete had to build a run of at least 5000 production cars after which they could then spin off a special racing mode. It had to be built and sold to the public but could possess several special features aimed at making it a better car -- and this was such a car, according to Mr Harmes.

"These were built for racing and highly desirable as it was the last so-called ‘homologation special ‘Holden built for Group A before the rules were changed to the current Supercar V8 formula, which doesn't require any special models to be built in production," he said.

This car along with another 120 American, European and Australian classic cars are up in a national auction on Saturday the April 24 from midday.

www.lloydsauctions.com.au 

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Battery World powers up Aussie Racing Cars

TWO UNIQUE Australian success stories, Aussie Racing Cars and Battery World, have joined forces. Battery World has become the naming rights partner of the Aussie Racing Cars Super Series. 

In 2021 and beyond, the category will now be known as the Battery World Aussie Racing Cars Super Series.

The deal will also see Battery World take prominent branding on all of the ‘pint-sized rockets’ which make up the scaled-racecar Aussie Racing Cars field.

As part of the major partnership, Battery World’s associated company, Yuasa, will become the official battery of the Super Series and all Aussie Racing Cars will now be fitted with a Yuasa high performance battery.

The deal has come about as Aussie Racing Cars gears up for its 22nd season with a new, modern logo that reflects the rise in popularity of the race series. Evolving from its modest beginnings at Oran Park, Sydney, Aussie Racing Cars has wowed millions of spectators and television viewers nationwide at Australia’s biggest and best sporting events.

Appropriately, the 2021 calendar is jam-packed with marquee events, including a season-opener at the Mount Panorama 500 and a finale on the streets of the Gold Coast. 

Category manager Brad Ward said he was thrilled with Aussie Racing Cars’ new look and its new partner, Battery World.

“After a tough 2020 for everyone, we’ve put together one of our best calendars ever for 2021 and now, we have even more reason to celebrate the return of Aussie Racing Cars to tracks around the country,” Mr Ward said.

“We are proud to welcome Battery World to the Aussie Racing Car Super Series as Naming Rights Partner and Yuasa as our official battery.

“As we also unveil a new, modern logo, it’s only appropriate that the category which started 20-plus years ago from something small and has grown to be the nationwide success story that it is today teams up with Battery World, which has a similarly colourful and successful history, spanning over 20 years.

“In Mount Panorama, we couldn’t have a better place to open the 2021 season, and in the Gold Coast, we couldn’t have a better place for a finale.

“Everyone’s itching to get back to a race track and there’s no better time to watch or get involved in the Battery World Aussie Racing Cars Super Series.”

Battery World general manager Johnny Kennedy said, “It makes commercial sense that Australia’s largest battery retailer fits each of these iconic racing cars with only the best Yuasa batteries. 

“This exciting partnership further cements Battery World’s positioning as Australia’s leading battery retailer.” Mr Kennedy said. “With 2021 being an extremely successful year for Battery World, our 110 stores are extremely excited to see what this partnership will deliver to the business in 2021.” 

Aussie Racing Cars are pure-bred race cars designed and built in Australia. Their compact size enables thrilling four-wide braking, overtaking and quick acceleration on regular racetracks to speeds in excess of 200kmh.  The cars are powered by 1.3 litre, 125bph, twin-cam, 16 valve engines that rev to 11500rpm. Despite the vehicles being about three quarters the size of a Supercar they produce extreme power and competitors say they are the most exhilarating race cars to drive -- and provide some of the world's most exciting racing to watch.

Round 1 of the 2021 Battery World Aussie Racing Cars Series supports Supercars at the Mount Panorama 500 on February 26-28.

www.aussieracingcars.com.au

www.batteryworld.com.au

2021 Battery World Aussie Racing Cars Series Calendar

Round

Date

Circuit

Event

1

26-28 Feb

Mount Panorama 500

Supercars Championship

2

10–11 Apr

Tasmania Supersprint

Supercars Championship

3

1–2 May

Sydney Motorsport Park

Motorsport Australia Nationals

4

25–27 Jun

Morgan Park Raceway

Motorsport Australia Nationals

5

10–12 Sep

Sandown International Raceway

Motorsport Australia Nationals

6

3–5 Dec

Gold Coast 600

Supercars Championship

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Abandon electric car taxes? Or abandon 2050 zero emission target?

THE Electric Vehicle Council is urging state governments to clarify whether they intend to push forward with electric vehicle taxes or hold to their 2050 zero greenhouse gas emissions targets.

New research from the University of Queensland shows the decision by the governments of Victoria and South Australia to slug electric vehicles with new taxes will prevent these states from reaching their goal of net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.

Dr Jake Whitehead's research on the impact of such taxes suggest that the move will reduce electric vehicle uptake by 50 percent. But 90 percent of cars on the roads must be electric by 2050 for zero emission targets to be viable. 

Electric Vehicle Council chief executive Behyad Jafari said state governments need to pick a position.

“State governments need to decide, do they want to introduce a tax on electric cars or do they want to commit to zero emissions by 2050? The research shows unequivocally they cannot do both,” Mr Jafari said.

“You don’t need advanced economics to understand that applying a big new tax on something discourages its consumption. These proposed state taxes will badly stunt Australia’s electric vehicle uptake before it even had a chance to get started.

“These taxes are like replacing declining tobacco excise with a new tax on nicotine patches. They are madness. And that’s why a few Australian states are so far the only jurisdictions in the world silly enough to flag this policy approach at this point in global history.

“What this research makes clear is that we cannot allow State Treasurers to continue deceiving the public. You’re either for an electric vehicle tax or you’re for a 2050 zero target. You cannot be for both.”

www.electricvehiclecouncil.com.au

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Original 'Fast and Furious 4' Chevelle SS muscle car under auction in Australia

THE ORIGINAL 'hero car' of the cult movie Fast And Furious 4, driven by action star Vin Diesel, is up for auction in Australia.

It is the original 1970 Chevelle SS from the blockbuster movie and represents a rare opportunity for collectors. 

“This car was in fact the actual original ‘hero car’, driven by Vin Diesel himself on the set of the Fast and Furious 4 movie and was the principal car used while shooting the film,” Lloyds Auctions chief operations officer Lee Hames said. 

“We expect this car to reach six figures this Saturday, but what the final figure will be is anyone’s guess as it will be a car to treasure and will go down in history forever." 

In true Fast and Furious style, the four-speed manual car features a V8 Chevy engine, nitrous bottle, drift brakes and alloy wheels.

The current owner purchased the car from singer Jerry Wallace, also known as an avid car collector, and the car was then imported from America into Australia in late 2012.

The car has been left ‘as is’ to honour its role in the original film. It comes with the Universal Studios Certificate of Title.

“The car was even signed by Cody Walker, Paul Walker’s brother back in 2015 and has also been submitted with the Universal Studios Certificate of Title,” Mr Hames said.

He said the 2009 action movie from the phenomenon worldwide franchise is, to this day, one of the highest grossing sagas in Hollywood movie history, and now the opportunity presents itself for an Australian car enthusiast to own a piece of that movie history.

This car features as part of a major online classic car auction happening this Saturday at Lloyds Auctions, consisting of more than100 classic cars and bikes, ranging from Honda and Kawasaki classic bikes to Porsche and Ferrari classic cars.

www.lloydsauctions.com.au  

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