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Speaker 1: Now new statistics have revealed a strong uptake in electric

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Speaker 1: vehicles in the Northern Territory, with sales increasing two hundred

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Speaker 1: and ninety percent on last year. So one hundred and

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Speaker 1: six electric vehicles have been sold in the territory in

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Speaker 1: the year to date, that is compared to sixty eight

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Speaker 1: across all of last year. Now, joining me on the

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Speaker 1: line to delve into this a little bit more is

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Speaker 1: the Motor Trade Association's General manager of Media and Policy,

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Speaker 1: Case Silicen get a Case.

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Speaker 2: Hi, Toty. Great to be back with you.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, good to have you on the show. Talk us

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Speaker 1: through the latest stats for the electric vehicles in the territory.

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Speaker 2: Yes, we're absolutely seeing electric vehicle sales ratchet up. We're

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Speaker 2: talking about, as you've mentioned, almost threefold in sales so

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Speaker 2: compared to last year. So this is really as a

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Speaker 2: result of the fact that there's more choice, more affordable

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Speaker 2: models and EV's with simply more range. And while we

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Speaker 2: know their transition to evs won't happen overnight, it is

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Speaker 2: coming along quite steadily.

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Speaker 1: And tell me you know, because as you've touched on there,

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Speaker 1: it did seem as though it was such an expensive

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Speaker 1: kind of option to get an electric vehicle. But by

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Speaker 1: the sounds of it, there is a lot more options

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Speaker 1: on the market now.

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Speaker 2: Yes, the choice of models is a major driver in

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Speaker 2: the price. So previously, your Tesla Model three is certainly

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Speaker 2: one of the most popular in the Northern Territory, but

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Speaker 2: when it comes at the price of sixty to seventy

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Speaker 2: thousand dollars, it is not an every person's vehicle just yet.

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Speaker 2: That said, we're seeing models from particularly China, such as

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Speaker 2: byd and other brands which are challenging the affordability equation.

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Speaker 2: Models such as the byd add Oh three, which is

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Speaker 2: a sub fifty thousand dollars vehicle and sort of a

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Speaker 2: small suv, is changing perceptions about the affordability of electric

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Speaker 2: vehicles for consumers.

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Speaker 1: And you spoke before about range. That's something that I've

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Speaker 1: kind of wondered about because sometimes I think to myself, oh,

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Speaker 1: if you buy an electric vehicle, you know what happens

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Speaker 1: if you need to charge it when you sort of

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Speaker 1: traveling between Darwin and Catherine. It doesn't feel like there's

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Speaker 1: a lot of infrastructure in the Northern Territory for electric vehicles,

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Speaker 1: But maybe I'm wrong.

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Speaker 2: Infrastructure is absolutely critical and we're certainly talking to the

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Speaker 2: government in terms of the transition to BUA and lower

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Speaker 2: emission vehicles, whether they're hybrids, plug in hybrid vehicles or

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Speaker 2: just fully battery electric, the charges do need to be there,

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Speaker 2: and they do need to be suitably rated for charging

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Speaker 2: quickly but also having multiple charging points. What I would

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Speaker 2: like to say as well is that it's really critical

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Speaker 2: that we make sure that we have the maintenance and

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Speaker 2: service and repair economy behind it as well, and that's

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Speaker 2: why the Motor Trade Association is working very closely locally

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Speaker 2: to deliver electric vehicle training to technicians to aide to

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Speaker 2: upstill them and also making sure that apprentices in the

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Speaker 2: future are ready for the new skill sets that they'll

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Speaker 2: be required to have.

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Speaker 1: Case talk us through the car sales so far, when

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Speaker 1: you talk about all different types of car, not cars,

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Speaker 1: not just our evs.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, I think it's fair say the territory and still

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Speaker 2: love their utes and four by four. So while we're

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Speaker 2: talking about an increase in electric vehicles, when you look

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Speaker 2: at the top five cars sold in the NT, we're

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Speaker 2: talking about a Toyata Highlux four x four is that

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Speaker 2: number one spot number two? We're talking about the forward Ranger.

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Speaker 2: Number three is the Toile de Prado. Number four is

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Speaker 2: the Toia Highlex once again but the four x two model,

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Speaker 2: and then finally rounding it up in fifth place is

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Speaker 2: the ISUSU Dmax four x four. So I think it

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Speaker 2: goes to show that there is still a place for

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Speaker 2: internal combustion diesel engines and given the territories geography, distance

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Speaker 2: between major centers that is a critical driving point. But

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Speaker 2: also electric vehicle utes. While there is an option available

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Speaker 2: currently in Australia, it's quite expensive and range and towing

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Speaker 2: capacity are not like to like, so we believe that

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Speaker 2: there's going to be a little way to go for

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Speaker 2: full adoption when it comes to you know, particularly the

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Speaker 2: ute sector as well, which is you know, as I've

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Speaker 2: just mentioned, highly represented in the Northern territory.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, and I would imagine that that sort of the

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Speaker 1: case as well right across regional Australia where you have

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Speaker 1: got people that are having to drive longer distances if

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Speaker 1: they're out bush, they're doing different types of jobs that

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Speaker 1: those four by fours are a more practical option.

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Speaker 2: Yes, and I think it's an important thing in the

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Speaker 2: backdrop of the current fuel efficiency standards that the federal

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Speaker 2: governor looking at. Certainly, what we're saying is, while we

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Speaker 2: definitely support the transition to zero and lower emission vehicles,

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Speaker 2: it does need to be a transition that supports everybody.

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Speaker 2: And I think you can't force someone into a small

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Speaker 2: electric vehicle and what they really need is a use

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Speaker 2: for either work purposes or for towing a caravan, etc.

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Speaker 2: We know that batteries are going to become better, and

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Speaker 2: we know that prices are going to come down, but

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Speaker 2: if you force people too soon, you won't get the

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Speaker 2: buy in that is required.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, you spot on, because you know, we talk so

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Speaker 1: often about that move to electric vehicles, and I think that, yeah,

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Speaker 1: you know, you're so right. That is something that we're

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Speaker 1: obviously all going to be moving towards at some point.

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Speaker 1: But you just can't do it sort of before the

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Speaker 1: market is ready and before the you know, before we've

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Speaker 1: got the type of vehicles that are actually needed. Like,

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Speaker 1: how can you expect the trade that's heading out bush

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Speaker 1: to do different jobs, you know, to be driving in

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Speaker 1: a small electric vehicle when they've got to carry all

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Speaker 1: their tools and do everything that they need to be

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Speaker 1: able to get out there safely.

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Speaker 2: You're absolutely right. I would say they watch your space.

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Speaker 2: There is some really exciting technology coming across, certainly the

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Speaker 2: ability to charge your power tools with some of these

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Speaker 2: electric fall by fours and utes that are coming out

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Speaker 2: like the Ford F one fifty lightning really exciting expensive. Yes,

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Speaker 2: and also range is a question, but I think you'll

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Speaker 2: find over time, as battery technology becomes more efficient, the

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Speaker 2: battery has become more more range with a smaller battery,

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Speaker 2: less cost involved in it, You're going to see that

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Speaker 2: equation transform over time. It won't happen overnight, but I

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Speaker 2: think we're going to get there given some time.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, Look, do you reckon. We're far away from sort

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Speaker 1: of reaching that point where we are seeing some of

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Speaker 1: those electric vehicles that are actually like utes and work vehicles.

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Speaker 2: As I said, you can get. For example, there is

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Speaker 2: a LVD electric utes about ninety thousand dollars when you

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Speaker 2: compare it to its petrol equivalent. The payback period is

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Speaker 2: like twenty years, so it's not exactly a you know,

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Speaker 2: you'll get it if you really want it, but in

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Speaker 2: terms of the financial payback period, it's not quite there yet. Yeah,

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Speaker 2: I think there's a range of things, so there's going

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Speaker 2: to be a role. I think for hybrid there's going

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Speaker 2: to be a role for plug in hybrid. I know

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Speaker 2: there are various brands looking at, for example, hybrids and

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Speaker 2: plug in hybrids. For the ute sector, hydrogen is still

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Speaker 2: i think, in its early infancy, but I think can

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Speaker 2: be a potential game changer long term. But as the battery, yes,

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Speaker 2: I think that there's going to be some developments and

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Speaker 2: you've got companies such as Toyota looking at solid state

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Speaker 2: technology making claims of the battery that can go up

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Speaker 2: to fifteen hundred kilometers. It is really quite an exciting

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Speaker 2: time in automotive and there's so much going on.

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Speaker 1: Well. Case Lizen Motor Tried Associations General Manager of Media

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Speaker 1: and Policy, really appreciate your time this morning. Thanks for

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Speaker 1: having a chat with us.

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Speaker 2: Always with a lot, Thank you, Thank you,