The peak body representing franchised new car Dealers has today noted the passage of the New Vehicle Efficiency Standard.
“New car Dealers have supported the introduction of a Standard for a long time, and while we consider this to be an ambitious standard which will be very challenging to achieve, Dealers are ready to play their part in significantly lowering vehicle emissions,” said AADA CEO Mr James Voortman.
“This policy ushers in a major transition in Australia’s automotive retail sector and new car Dealers as a customer facing industry will be central to supporting consumers as they transition to low and zero emissions vehicles. We are confident that Australia’s nearly 3,200 new car dealerships and their 61,000 employees have a bright future,” he said.
While this legislation is a significant reform, there is a lot more complementary work needed to ensure lower emissions vehicles are affordable and that Australians buying these vehicles have access to charging infrastructure.
“One key element being the $60 million dealership charging fund to assist Dealers in installing charging infrastructure to support the transition to selling and servicing electric vehicles,” said Mr Voortman.
This policy also underscores the need to investigate issues around automotive franchising reform as compliance with the NVES and the arrival of many new manufacturers will put Australian Dealers at greater risk.
“Now that the legislation has passed, we will focus on working with the Government to ensure implementation is as smooth as possible. In particular, we will push for the compliance of this scheme to move from the point of import to the point of sale over time,” he said.
