He believes electric cars are crucial to decarbonisation not only for their own reduced emissions, but with the right equipment EVs could charge during periods of low demand and had the potential to sell power back into the grid at peak periods.
“One million electric cars would provide the same amount of dispatchable power as two coal-fired power plants,” he says.
Along with the other importers and Behyad Jafari, chief executive of the Electric Vehicle Council, he believes the federal government should scrap import duties on electric cars and introduce emissions standards in line with similar international markets to discourage manufacturers from dumping older dirtier car models on the Australian market.
Mr Jafari has also called on governments to buy electric cars in their fleets to build a healthy second-hand market.
The Good Car Company imports for individual clients, but also brings down prices on second-hand EVs even further by facilitating bulk purchases for groups around the country.
In Yackandandah in north-east Victoria, Russell Klose, who once imported cars and parts from a business in Albury-Wodonga, has come out of retirement with his son Cam and friend Matt Grogan for the same reason.
They have formed Kilowatt Cars, and are now waiting on a licence to begin to sell low-priced second-hand electric cars also sourced from Japan.
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As they wait for the licence, Mr Klose says he is watching the price of stock go up with demand. Japan also only has a limited number of electric cars on the road and the New Zealand government recently started offering purchasers of EVs a rebate, creating a surge of demand in that country for Japanese cast-offs.
“It is the sort of thing people have just given up on the Australian government doing, so we are doing it for ourselves,” he said.
Mr Klose says Yackandandah is the perfect market for small second-hand EVs. The town has already embraced a plan to source all of its power from renewables and residents typically only need a small runabout in town even if they have a larger car for long-distance drives.
According to Mr Broese van Groenou, an entry-level second-hand Leaf will cost about $20,000 and arrive with a range of around 110 kilometres, suitable for most commuting.
The range will deteriorate over subsequent years before the battery needs to be swapped. But even then, if and when Australia adopts similar inverter equipment common in Japan, it could be reused as a powerful home battery.
“It’s just like buying a battery with a small car chucked in,” he says.
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