John Howard recently stated that he didn't want to see production of an electric car in Australia because, as he put it, it would create major unemployment in the automotive industry, particularly in regards to maintainance and spare parts. Electric cars need little of either, but is that reason enough to prevent production of such vehicles?
Jim Arian was invited to Australia to develop a fully electric vehicle for the Australian market. He successfully drove a prototype from Melbourne to Ballarat, a distance much greater than most commuters would travel on a working day. Since then, he's developed the vehicle to a point whereby the new prototype can travel at speeds of 160kph and can be "quick-charged" in approx 6 minutes. The latest version can travel distances of up to 300 kilometres and yet sadly, he's had no backing from Federal Government (Jim is based in Victoria) which is surprising considering Howard was caught on the back foot re: climate change. This is proof positive that John Howard thinks more of lining corporate pockets than seeking a sustainable future for our children and their decendants.
Jim Arian is now in the process of packing up and heading to England where the Government says it is happy to accomadate production of his vehicles. Another lost opportunity for Australian GDP and employment.
I'm not sure of all the details and I'm offering this post hoping that somebody can fill in the gaps. I believe the Victorian Government who invited Jim Arian to develop the vehicle here in the first instance, is not responsible for the lack of backing. It's the Federal Government who steadfastly refuses to legislate standards for electric vehicles, however, I will write to both State and Federal Labor parties within the next week to seek their version of the need for electric vehicles in Australia.
Wildcat.

'I know what happens when the new president gets inaugurated. After the celebrations, they take him into a small room with a chair and a projector. They sit him down, men in sunglasses standing either side. The lights go down. The projector flickers on, it's footage of the Kennedy assassination, but from a *different* angle. Everything is clear from this viewpoint. The new presidents face turns white. The footage ends, the lights go up. One of the men says:

"Any questions?"

"....just what my agenda is!"'

- Bill Hicks

Never heard of Jim who ever he is, but already major car manufacturers around the world have developed electric cars. “Australian” car makers (Ford, GM, & etc) are not Australian, so I see little value for taxpayers in funding foreign car makers to develop an electric car here. Nonetheless, Howard would have been better to spend the 3 billion dollars he’s wasted in Iraq on Jim’s ideas. Anyway, there is intense competition for a viable electric car. One of the best I’ve seen is the Tesla, now a production car developed in the USA ( see http://www.teslamotors.com/ ). A more utilitarian model is in the pipeline.

The problem re: sustainability in Australia is that most of our electricity is generated from coal. So, although many electric cars will cut our oil consumption, it will increase our coal consumption. giving little if any reduction in greenhouse gas emissions.

It would be interesting to know EXACTLY how and why the failure to publish Australian Standards is preventing or obstructing production of electric cars in Australia. This has all of the feel of one of those issues where public engagement is sought, but ALL interested parties are refusing to talk about what could be, truth be known, absolutely key points.

Does the absence of such published standards prevent import of electric cars into Australia?

Is not the determination of registration requirements for road vehicles a State matter? If Jim Arian was invited to develop his cars by the government of Victoria, and that government was sincere, why does that government not proceed unilaterally to set such standards and register such vehicles? Should, subsequently, other Australian States register such vehicles, would not Section 92 of the Constitution insulate the manufacturer from any attempt by the Federal government to stifle locally made electric car sales elsewhere in Australia?

It seems to me that a major business opportunity for electricity suppliers is going begging here. They have existing unused generating capacity. Off-peak recharging would seem highly likely to be practical for users of such vehicles. Why are they not investing in the production of electric vehicles? Indeed, would not the Australian public invest directly in such an enterprise if it were well managed, and especially so if importation of electric vehicles continued to be impossible while local production and registration continued unpreventable?

Successive Federal governments have shown little concern for the retention of jobs in Australia: I don't believe there is now suddenly concern for the prospects of the automotive service industry. Could it be that it fears the loss of excise on petroleum fuel sales? Worse than that, could it fear encouragement of distributed private generation of electricity using natural energy sources (wind, solar, biofuels, waves) once a real market for that product in transportation develops?

Good for the balance of payments. Out from under the oil cartel! With Labor in power in all States for years, what's been stopping you, fellas? What haven't we been told?

Back in about 1958 I had a ride in a 1907 Detroit Electric which at the time was used as an everyday commuter vehicle in Sydney (within its limited range).
It was a pleasure to travel in it, barely audible tyre noise was all that could be heard.
Today's electric cars' range is much extended and they would be ideal for the cities and inter city runs.
I see some problems if one strayed to far from the electricity grid. Bringing 'fuel' to a stranded car could be a problem.

There would no longer be 'off-peak' power however as the generation plants would have to keep pouring it into the grid 24hrs a day.

At the moment it does not seem logical to have a car running on electriciy generated by coal. Then again, remember those old oil heaters? They were great. But they phased them out as oil became so expensibe and most went to natural gass in the southern states.

It is a shame that James is being coaxed to the UK. Electric cars may not be an answer to sustainability now, but with better technology and increased efficiency and other ways to generate electricity comes to pass, they could be a reality.

The trick is to keep the momentum of reasearch going.

Robg, this link is one of several that will take you to a site which tells the story (albeit briefly) of Jim Arian and his Aussi built EV.
http://www.slf.org.au/festival/program/exhibitors/arianaEV

Yes Robg, it's true that most power is generated by dirty coal fired power stations and increasing use of EV's could only result in more coal being burnt, however, if we believe the Government in relation to CO2 sequestration (hope I've got that right), isn't it better to have some sort of control over CO2 emmissions than having fossil fuel emissions belching from tail pipes? Just a thought.

Forrest, you threw up some very good points, especially in relation to excise on fossil fuels. Looks as though Government isn't ready to let go of our ever increasing dependance on fossil fuel from hostile countries just yet.

Is Mise, yes, off peak rates would probably dissappear, but perhaps dearer energy prices may be what is needed to entice people to move to solar and/or wind power and whilst I realise it won't charge a massive bank of lead acid batteries in an EV overnight, with better battery technology it may be possible, but it would help reduce our dependance on fossil fuels and create employment. You have to remember, why do we want to reduce our dependance on fossil fuels? Why do we need to reduce CO2 levels? Isn't it all about saving the planet so our future generations can enjoy what we take for granted now? If energy prices were more expensive, maybe people would turn off that AC unless absolutely necessary, perhaps they'd turn off their TV and HEU at the wall instead of being so lazy.

Good posts people, but I think Forrest has nailed it. No Government wants us to be in any way dependant of fossil fuels and the taxes that come with them. Look what they did to bio-fuels in England.
Wildcat.

Almost forgot to mention. There's a petition site called "Make Electric Cars Available for Australia." It has just 65 signatures at present, mine being one of them. It can be found at.........

http://www.gopetition.com.au/sign.php?petid=10891&section=thanks

I must state too that I have no agenda with EV's. I just think it's a shame that the World is so close to producing a practical EV for daily commuting and yet we're not allow to buy or produce them in this country. I still maintain it's more to do with the Coalition Government simply because testing and compliance of new vehicles and especially EV's is a Federal issue, not State which is where the Reva fell foul of Sen. Ian Campbell when the importing company tried to get it safety tested as this drive.com.au article points out.....

http://www.drive.com.au/Editorial/ArticleDetail.aspx?ArticleID=21284&vf=1

I have written to Peter Garrett about this matter and am waiting for a reply. I'll keep you posted (no pun intended). Wildcat.

I would like to know where you got your information regarding the alleged remarks that Howard made over his refusal to consider manufacturing the electric car 'because it would create unemplyment' in the motor industry. Logic suggests that it would create employment rather than destroy it. For your information I copy part of what "The Age" had to say about this, which indicates it was not a Federal matter at all.

"In Australia, nobody is interested, but I have a customer in Monaco who wants me to manufacture 100 cars, which I will manufacture there," he said.

"This kind of project needs to have support from the government. I chose Australia because it has very good access to components and technology, but it is not suitable for manufacturing."

Mr Arian said he came to Australia with the help of the Victorian Department of Innovation but further assistance had not materialised.

But a spokeswoman for Innovation Minister John Brumby said the Government was not aware of any requests for support. "As far as the Government is aware, this particular company has never sought formal assistance from the Government," she said. "But Victoria has a burgeoning innovation industry which the Government is continually investing in."

Another obstacle is that Mr Arian had not yet been able to register his latest vehicle. VicRoads said he had yet to complete the safety inspections and registration procedures.

Snake, those may not have been the PM's exact words, but near enough to it. I saw a television interview as I walked through the lounge room, heard the mention of electric cars, saw that an interviewer had bailed up the PM and stopped to listen. I've been searching for a link to that story ever since and have so far been unable to find it. I did hesitate in using it in my post because it is (unfortunately at this time) unsubtantiated, but I'll continue to look.
Also, if you took the time to read my original post, I did state that I didn't have the full picture and hoped that others might help fill in the gaps. Your version is a welcome addition, despite the rather in your face "For your information....." and I'll now seek out the Age's article. Would you have a link please Snake?
Wildcat.

Aime said "No Government wants us to be in any way dependant of fossil fuels and the taxes that come with them. Look what they did to bio-fuels in England."

It's just a motoring tax. Taxing fuel is a convenient way of taxing motoring. If it became impractical to tax motoring that way, then a different way would be adopted, so the Government has no financial reason to be opposed to the replacement of fossil fuels.

Sylvia.

Have a read of this, just might be interesting and on topic.

http://www.internalcombustionbook.com/index.php

Thanks for the link Is Mise. I'll make sure to order or buy a copy when I'm in town within the next few days. Looks very interesting from what I've read in the introduction. I'd love to hear more about your ride in the 1907 Detroit vehicle.
Wildcat.

http://www.slf.org.au/festival/program/exhibitors/arianaEV

To suggest the Ariana vehicle would cost owners just over $100 per year in fuel and can drive between 250 - 300 kms on one charge sounds like a maths error... costing power usage for recharging ?

Top speed of 160 km/h is to fast, really only want 100km/h at which point any faster probably guilty of speeding. To travel longer distances we need an easier load on load off for cars to trains.

Some of my neighbours drive their electrics golf buggies :-) Figure those driving golf buggies keep to pavements rather than road from fear of being booked for driving unregistered vehicles... Can we get them cheaply registered to drive on the roads ?

Another neighbour has a hybrid with standard vehicle registration, so we must have standards for electric motors in vehicles.

So IF Ariana vehicle is ready for mass production in Australia yes wedo have standards for electric vehicles. What part are they having problems with ?

How much does it cost to get a vehicle certified as roadworthy in Australia or one of the states ?

More importantly, how much are they costing to produce at moment, how fast can they produce them, and what savings achievable from building 10,000 or 100,000 in a year ?

Recharging to 85% in 6 minutes at charging station is plenty fast. IF can get 300km before needing the charge, anything over 200km is time I took a tea break ;-) Parking meters could be turned into charge stations. Swipe your flexicard, put your coins in the parking meter then plug in your meter recharge cable...