The Royal Automobile Club of Queensland (RACQ) has backed policy reform aimed at fostering competition and enhancing the presence of environmentally friendly and secure vehicles.
Dr Michael Kane, head of public policy at RACQ, noted the company’s backing for the Federal Government’s introduction of the New Vehicle Efficiency Standard (NVES). Nonetheless, he emphasised the need for modifications to the proposed regulatory framework.
“The modelling is important to secure public confidence in the benefits that will flow,” he said. “A well-designed standard will not only incentivise manufacturers to send better and safer cars, utes, and 4WDs to Australia, but also ensure they are competitively priced.
“Apart from Russia, Australia is the only other advanced nation without vehicle efficiency standards, and this should have been fixed a long time ago. The longer we don’t have one, the further behind Australia will trail the rest of the world on access to the best cars, utes, and 4WDs to drive.”
While RACQ is in favour of introducing the NVES, it advocates for slight relaxations in early targets for specific vehicle types like utes and 4WDs.
“We would like to see future fuel efficiency targets for utes and 4WDs relaxed in the initial years to allow vehicle technology to be introduced and to make sure new and more efficient models maintain or even increase in range,” Kane said. “Vehicle range is a big factor for regional Queenslanders and off-road enthusiasts and the last thing we want to see is any new standard compromising that.”
Additionally, RACQ is pushing for governmental support towards advancing utility vehicle and 4WD technologies and fostering the biofuels industry.
“Despite improving battery technology, there is likely to always be a need for fuel for heavier vehicles in regional and remote parts of Australia. RACQ believes that ethanol and biofuels can play a part in decarbonisation and boosting regional economies,” Kane said.
Addressing concerns about NVES potentially inflating vehicle prices, Kane refuted such claims.
“RACQ has heard concerns surrounding the NVES about affordability, but we can find little international evidence pointing to upward pressure on vehicle purchase costs,” he said.
In other news, RACQ recently warned about a surge in aggressive driving incidents in Queensland.
