The Coalition says it is not anti-electric vehicles, but that it is also not the role of government to tell people which cars they should drive.

Key points: Energy Minister Angus Taylor says the Government does not want to tell people which cars to drive

Energy Minister Angus Taylor says the Government does not want to tell people which cars to drive Mr Taylor says Malcolm Turnbull's proposal for new vehicle emissions standards was never Coalition policy

Mr Taylor says Malcolm Turnbull's proposal for new vehicle emissions standards was never Coalition policy Labor has adopted Mr Turnbull's proposal

Electric vehicles have been dragged into the election, with the Government claiming Labor's electric vehicle policy would effectively kill off the tradie's ute.

The political bunfight comes at a time when more and more global car manufacturers are rolling out electric vehicles and foreign governments, including the UK, France and China, are planning to ban or limit sales of new vehicles with internal combustion engines in the next couple of decades.

Energy Minister Angus Taylor said his party was not against electric cars and was working on an electric vehicle strategy, but a returned Coalition Government would not follow the lead of other countries.

"There's a big range of policies around the world, but you've got to remember Australia is a country where we travel large distances. We are a large country with low-density cities," Mr Taylor told 7.30.

"What we're not going to do is tell people what cars to drive. That's just not the role of government. We don't think that's appropriate and it's probably less appropriate in Australia than some other countries."

Angus Taylor says the Coalition is working on an electric vehicle strategy. ( ABC News: Luke Stephenson )

The Coalition is also distancing itself from the Malcolm Turnbull-era proposal for new vehicle emissions standards — a policy now being pursued by the Opposition.

The proposed standards for how much pollution cars can emit are part of Labor's electric vehicle strategy, which includes a target for 50 per cent of new car sales to be electric by 2030.

The policy has been derided by the Government, which has launched a series of attack ads saying motorists will pay up to $5,000 more to purchase a car.

In 2017, then-prime minister Malcolm Turnbull released a review which said similar emissions standards would reduce carbon and save billions.

Mr Taylor told 7.30 the idea was dead.

"We've never adopted that policy, it's never been our policy and it won't be our policy," he said.

"Bureaucrats work on what the policy options are and they should, but that was not our policy and it won't be our policy," he told 7.30.

Mark Butler concedes car prices would go up

Mark Butler says cars will be more expensive under Labor's plan, but not by as much as the Coalition suggests. ( ABC News: Adam Kennedy )

Opposition spokesman on climate change Mark Butler claimed the Coalition's stance on electric vehicles was connected to internal party problems over climate and energy policy.

"This is yet another frontline on the internal climate wars in the Coalition partyroom," Mr Butler said.

Mr Butler conceded Labor's proposed emissions standards would increase car prices, but not by $5,000 as suggested by the Coalition.

Mr Butler said the extra outlay would be quickly recouped.

"Malcolm Turnbull's modelling suggested it would be about $1,100 upfront, which would be paid back in two years with fuel savings," he said.

Increased numbers of electric cars on Australia's roads would also increase pressure on the Federal Budget. Currently conventional car owners contribute about 41 cents a litre in fuel excise to government coffers — about $18 billion a year.

Mr Butler said if Labor won the election that would have to be worked through.

"This will be something that governments over the course of the 2020s will have to look at, we've made that clear," he said.

"Obviously we need to win an election to start to look at that," he said.

More charging points required

David Finn says the only disadvantage to owning an electric car is the lack of infrastructure. ( ABC News: Chris Gillett )

Fewer than 200 battery electric vehicles were sold in Australia last year, along with about 1,100 plug-in hybrids, which combine a petrol engine with an electric motor.

One of the biggest challenges for electric vehicle uptake is a lack of quick charging infrastructure across the nation.

David Finn, CEO of Brisbane charging manufacturer Tritium, said Labor's promise of $100 million in grants for about 200 new stations was welcome.

"The only disadvantage at this time is the infrastructure," Mr Finn said.

"Once that infrastructure's out there and it's fast and it's reliable, there is no reason to worry about the adoption of mass market EVs.

"I think the policy announced by Bill Shorten does align with what we're seeing overseas, with hard mandates to hit vehicle numbers on the road."

Fifteen minutes spent plugged into one of the latest technology chargers will give a car about 400 kilometres of range, but there are only a couple of those chargers in Australia.

By contrast, so-called "fast chargers" located in most capitals and down the east coast are slower, giving about 60 kilometres for the same amount of charging time.

Other parts of the country are stuck with even slower technology which can take hours to fully power up a vehicle.

Concerns about reliability in bush

John Lush is concerned that an electric vehicle would not be reliable enough on his farm. ( ABC News )

Range is a big concern for South Australian farmer John Lush, as is reliability. His diesel ute is his workhorse.

"Most of our work is hauling heavy loads, doing large jobs that you can't afford to have a battery go flat, whereas the old fossil fuel vehicles just keep going," he said.

He is also worried about the impact of electric vehicles on the national electricity grid after the 2016 South Australian statewide blackout.

"We don't have an electricity supply that's meeting our needs now, without charging five or six million cars during the day and overnight," he said.

But energy economist Bruce Mountain expected many electric vehicle owners would use solar to power their cars and pointed to other potential benefits.

"Right now only some cars have the capability to export electricity back to the grid, but increasingly the manufacturers are looking at the functionality to export from the car to the grid as well," he told 7.30.

'A bit like charging your mobile phone'

Paul Koch says his electric car costs about $5 or $6 a week to charge. ( ABC News )

Each month fans of electric vehicles around Australia meet up as members of the Electric Vehicle Association.

Paul Koch is the chairman of the SA/NT Branch, which has 90 members.

He said that nationally the organisation had existed for 40 years and consisted of owners, want-to-be owners and some who had converted conventional cars into electric ones.

"A lot of people are interested in the technology, but a lot of people are actually interested in electric cars because they see that as the future," Mr Koch said.

Mr Koch's electric car cost about $50,000 but costs barely anything to run.

"This car has a range between 230 and 250 kilometres in a week. We'd probably charge it once a week and that would cost us about $5 to $6 a week," he said.

"Once you plug it in it just charges. It might take maybe two to three hours, but if that's overnight you don't really notice it.

"It's not really inconvenient, it's a bit like charging your mobile phone."