victorian electric vehicle trial mid-term report - Department of Transport

A range of levers exist to influenceEV prices relative to conventionalvehicles. Investment in researchand development has documentedbenefits in terms of bringingforward technology price reductions.Manufacturing investments provideeconomies of scale for vehicleproduction. Bulk procurementprograms provide economies of scalefor vehicle sales. Measures to promotemarket competition and reduce thecosts of doing business will also putdownward pressure on vehicle prices.By reducing EV technology costs toconsumers, the take-off point formainstream EV adoption is broughtforward and the economic benefitsfrom EV take-up increased.In contrast, oil prices are determinedby global commodity markets that arelargely outside the control of individualmarkets or entities. For this reason,the economic benefit to the statecan be maximised by identifyingmeasures to effectively promote EVtake-up by mainstream consumersand introducing them as oil pricesshow signs of increasing.As described in Section 6.1.2,the availability of public charginginfrastructure is one of the maininfluences on consumer preferencestowards electric vehicle take-up andthe corresponding economic benefitsfor Victoria. To optimise the economicbenefits, widespread public charginginfrastructure should become availablejust prior to the take-off point formainstream EV adoption describedabove. Based upon current forecasts,this would suggest a widespreadcharging network should come online around 2018–19 having beencommitted to at least two years earlierto inform OEM product planning.6.1.4 How will electric vehiclemarket development affectVictorian jobs?Electric vehicles may be a ‘sweet-spot’for Victorian jobs. Opportunities existto protect and enhance employmentin Victoria’s automotive industry,one of the State’s key industries.Greater use of domestically-producedelectricity for transport in favour ofimported hydrocarbon-based fuels willcreate local jobs.Victoria’s automotive industry employsaround 28,000 people (Invest Vic 2011).In 2010, the industry identified vehicleelectrification as the highest priorityopportunity area for the long-termsuccess of the Australian automotiveindustry (AutoCRC 2010).A survey conducted of the trialparticipants in 2010 suggested thatover 500 new jobs would be createdover the life of the trial, accompaniedby $43 million of investment in Victoria(DOT 2010c).The Automotive Australia 2020roadmap (AutoCRC 2010) providessome insights into the EV technologyapplications around which these jobsmay be created:• Supercapacitors for EVs• Design and assembly of PowerElectronics Modules (PEMs)• High energy-density batteries• Low cost, robust, efficientelectric machines• Modular, standardisedbattery packs• Expertise in solutions for EVarchitectures and technologies• Seamless integrated charginginfrastructure• Software and hardware for EVspecific driver-interface• Hybrid and EV production forfleets and taxis.Additional jobs can be expected inother sectors that form part of the EVecosystem described in Section 3.1.The consultants McKinsey (Klintsovet al 2010) identify utilities andautomotive assembly as the top twoemployment multiplier sectors, with5.1 and 4.6 additional jobs in the widereconomy for every full-time employeewithin either sector. Electric vehicleuptake, which will drive employmentin electricity utilities and potentiallyautomotive design and manufacture,represents a unique sweet-spot toprotect and enhance Victorian jobs.