Australian Trucking Association says electric vehicle owners shouldn't be allowed to dodge fuel excise

The Australian Trucking Association (ATA) is lobbying for owners of electric vehicles to fund the roads they drive on in the same way that other drivers do via fuel excise.

It comes as a government report predicts EVs will account for eight per cent of all new vehicles sold in Australia by 2025 and 27 per cent by 2030.

Citing information released by the Bureau of Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Economics (BITRE), the ATA says EVs could end up costing the federal budget a billion dollars a year within 10 years.

The ATA says that because EV owners aren’t buying petrol or diesel, they’re bypassing the fuel excise tax – which is currently around 40 cents per litre – which is not fair on drivers of combustion-engine vehicles who help fund road infrastructure.

“Road users contribute to the cost of roads through fuel duty, and as it stands, electric vehicle owners do not pay for the roads they drive on,” ATA Chair Geoff Crouch said this week.

“Although the fleet is small, the time to act on road user charging for electric vehicles is now,” he added.

Crouch supported comments from Chair of the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC), Rod Sims, who has noted the unfairness of some road users not paying their fair share for road use.

“As the number of electric vehicles increases, the tax burden for road use will continue to shift to regional and suburban families driving petrol vehicles, as well as trucks,” Crouch said.

“A parliamentary inquiry into electric vehicles heard that this may cost the Federal Budget a billion dollars a year within 10 years.

“Our roads are critical to our economy and underfunding the future road network will pull the handbrake on our ability to move goods to markets and consumers.

“The total economic cost of inaction will be far greater than the cost to the Government,” he said.

Crouch said the ATA is a longstanding advocate for governments to prioritise reforms on how roads are funded.

“These reforms should include better links between road revenue and funding, as well as customer focused service level standards for roads,” he said.