The writing may soon be on the wall for petrol car owners who can't afford to upgrade, as the average price of electric vehicles steadily drops.
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That's according to Australian Electric Vehicle Association Tasmania secretary Christopher Walkden, who believes the government could be doing more to incentivise people to make the switch so that they aren't saddled with petrol cars that have suddenly plummeted in value.
Mr Walkden has been watching the cost of electric vehicles get lower over the years, dropping from the cost of a small house down to just above a regular car.
He currently drives an electric Hyundai Kona, which at the moment sits about $20,000 above the cost of its petrol equivalent.
Mr Walkden said economies of scale were pushing the prices of batteries lower than ever, with EVs projected to be cheaper than petrol cars in the coming years.
"Suddenly no one will buy the petrol ones," he said.
"And then you'll have all these people who have invested and bought themselves very expensive petrol cars, and they won't be worth anything.
"It's a good idea for the government to get involved, because it will affect the least wealthy the worst - they can't afford to buy electric cars at the moment and they'll be left with fossil cars worth nothing."
His warning comes on the back of the federal government's announcement of the "Future Fuels" strategy, during which Prime Minister Scott Morrison pledged $178 million towards the rollout of more hydrogen refuelling and electric vehicle charging stations.
The policy has since seen lash back from the electric vehicle sector for not offering incentives like tax breaks or setting targets for phasing out petrol cars.
Grant Vowles is an EV owner from Calder who decided to buy a Tesla back in 2019.
"I'm a bit of a car nut, and this was a great opportunity to get an excellent vehicle at a reasonable price," he admitted.
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Mr Vowles also backed the push to get the government incentivise car owners to make the switch, saying a distinct "lack of policy" and "shambolic" emissions regulations meant many manufacturers weren't even bothering to sell in Australia.
"There are two significant issues when it comes to buying EVs," he said.
"The first is cost ... the other is availability."
He said sales of Teslas in Tasmania had "virtually tripled overnight" when the state government this year decided to waive stamp duty.
"It didn't take much out of the state in terms of budget, it's only a couple of thousand dollars," he said.
"Unfortunately the [Australian government's Future Fuels strategy] is a bit of a hollow promise. As far as I can see there's nothing in it for the average user of the electric vehicle."