Fact Sheet - Supporting electric vehicle uptake

Electric vehicles, powered by Tasmania’s renewable energy, have the potential to significantly improve the efficiency of the state’s vehicle fleet, by reduced transport costs and greenhouse gas emissions.

Tasmania’s transport emissions

The transport sector is a major contributor to Tasmania’s greenhouse gas emissions. Vehicle fleet costs are a considerable expense for the Tasmanian Government, local government, business and industry, and the community.

Improving the efficiency of our vehicles is a significant opportunity for the state to reduce emissions and fuel costs.

Actions to support EVs

The Tasmanian Government is taking practical action to support the uptake of electric vehicles. This includes working with local government, and business and industry. The Tasmanian Government will work collaboratively with the Australian Government on the implementation of the National Electric Vehicle Strategy.

Electric Vehicle Working Group

The Tasmanian Government established the Electric Vehicle Working Group, which is managed by Renewables, Climate and Future Industries Tasmania. The Working Group provides advice on developing a coordinated approach to support the uptake of electric vehicles.

Commitments

Commitments to support the uptake of electric vehicles in Tasmania include:

• setting a target to transition the Tasmanian Government fleet to 100 per cent electric vehicles by 2030
• introducing a stamp duty exemption for the purchase of new, or secondhand, battery electric or hydrogen fuel cell vehicles (1 July 2021 to 30 June 2023, extended to 31 December 2023 for new vehicles contracted to purchase prior to 25 May 2023)
• waived registration fees for electric vehicles purchased by rental car or tour bus companies for a period of two years (1 July 2021 to 30 June 2023)
• launched a second round of Electric Vehicle ChargeSmart grants for charging infrastructure
• supporting Metro Tasmania to trial zero emissions buses.

Electric Vehicle ChargeSmart Grants Program

The Tasmanian Government is supporting the rollout of a statewide public charging network for electric vehicles in Tasmania.

ChargeSmart grants support organisations to install electric vehicle chargers that are accessible to the public.

In 2018-2019, the ChargeSmart grants program delivered over $600,000 in grants (Fast, Destination and Workplace Charging) to support the installation of 14 fast chargers, and 23 destination and workplace chargers across Tasmania.

In 2021, building on the success of the first program, the second grants program allocated $773,000 to support the installation of 20 fast charging stations and 23 destination chargers across regional areas and tourism hotspots.

The PlugShare website shows a map of electric vehicle charging locations around the state. Learn more about ChargeSmart.

Smarter Fleets Program

The Tasmanian Government’s Smarter Fleets Program commenced in 2015 to reduce vehicle fleet greenhouse gas emissions and fuel costs by providing tailored guidance and support to fleet managers.

Participating fleets made improvements by:

• revising vehicle procurement policies
• improving fleet data collection and analysis, and whole-of-life fleet costing
• implementing smarter vehicle booking systems.

The Smarter Fleets Program was extended to additional light and heavy vehicle fleets.

Electric Vehicles in Government

The Smarter Fleets Program supported participating councils and Tasmanian Government agencies to be electric vehicle ready, as uptake increases and more models become available.

Councils and agencies received tailored advice to identify electric vehicles and charging infrastructure to meet their needs. Learn more about Smarter Fleets.