As the federal and NSW government direct millions towards new charging infrastructure for electric vehicles, EV-ready buildings should be on the industry’s agenda, says the Property Council’s Lauren Conceicao.
|
Three key takeaways:
|
“The property industry can encourage the shift to electric vehicles with efficient energy supply and EV charging stations into new buildings and infrastructure,” says Property Council NSW deputy executive director Lauren Conceicao.
Globally, electric vehicles represented 4.2 per cent of light vehicle sales, up from 2.5 per cent in 2019, according to the Electric Vehicle Council. Even with EV sales taking off in Australia, just 0.12 per cent of our light vehicle fleet is electric.
But most carmakers have now made firm public commitments to electrification and have publicly pledged billions of dollars in investment towards EVs over the next few years alone. Australians have access to 31 passenger EV models from 12 different carmakers – and this is expected to grow to 58 models by the end of 2022.
Australia currently has more than 3,000 public chargers, and the rollout of public chargers has accelerated rapidly in the last 12 months. The Electric Vehicle Council says installation of fast or ultra-fast chargers rose by 24 per cent last year.
Consumer attitudes are changing too. The council’s consumer attitudes survey, published in October, found more than half of respondents (54%) would consider an EV as their next car purchase, and 49% see themselves driving an EV in 2030. Ninety-two per cent believe public charging infrastructure was an important consideration in their purchase.
“If you don’t have charging points, you can’t have electric vehicles,” says Conceicao.
The NSW Government’s commitment – which includes $33 million to transition the NSW Government fleet, with a target to be fully electric by 2030 – is an important step, Conceicao says. But a lot more work is ahead.
“There is no doubt that EVs will be a much bigger part of the future, so the industry should be thinking about this now, particularly in new builds.
“Making new buildings EV-ready can ensure that they are future-proofed for this transition and limit expensive retrofitting down the track.”
Conceicao says hotels and businesses should consider allocating parking spaces for guests and employees to recharge.
“Low-emissions electric vehicles are not only climate-friendly, but also improve air quality, potentially slashing carbon emissions by up to 90 per cent.”
EVs eliminate direct carbon emissions or harmful pollutants, which the Electric Vehicle Council is causes 50 per cent more deaths each year in Australia than car crashes.
“The transition to electric vehicles will provide big benefits across energy, transport, public health, infrastructure and industry development. The property industry holds a key to that transition,” Conceicao concludes.