Polestar Australia’s managing director has taken one other swipe on the Federal Authorities and those that oppose EV incentives, arguing tax breaks for business automobiles like dual-cab utes price the taxpayer “considerably extra money”.
Talking with CarExpert, Polestar Vehicles Australia managing director Scott Maynard mentioned it’s “actually disappointing” that the federal government is reviewing Fringe Advantages Tax (FBT) breaks for EV patrons, arguing it goes towards the federal government’s targets of lowering personal transport emissions.
“We’d like continued help to encourage the acquisition of [electric] automobiles, and I don’t see that any otherwise to the large quantity of help that’s billed to the taxpayer for the uptake of, for instance, gentle commercials, which might be costing the federal government, and consequently the taxpayer, considerably extra money than the electrical automobile scheme is,” mentioned Mr Maynard.
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“It’s actually disappointing that the federal government and Treasury are reviewing the FBT scheme [for EVs], not on the success of the scheme however the price of the scheme, and it appears considerably incongruous with the consequence.
“The federal government has acknowledged targets for take-up of electrical automobiles, and we’re nonetheless wanting these targets. We’re on course, however we’re not there, and it looks as if an inopportune time to take their foot off the ‘fuel’ and begin to cut back the help to Australian shoppers that wish to transfer to a zero-emission automobile.
“It’s within the authorities’s greatest curiosity, within the curiosity of its acknowledged targets, to proceed that help. And to scale back it for price causes, simply doesn’t appear proper – so we’re campaigning closely to see the FBT incentive to electrical automotive patrons maintained,” Mr Maynard continued.
“Equally, the New Car Effectivity Customary (NVES) and the FBT help work hand-in-hand. The NVES scheme has labored superbly in encouraging producers to deliver extra electrified alternate options to Australian drivers.
“We are actually seeing producers draw on their worldwide catalogue of automobiles to have the ability to make extra selection obtainable, and we see now nearly 150 electrified fashions on sale in Australia, which is vastly completely different to the panorama and selection that drivers had even 6-12 months in the past.”
Mr Maynard’s newest feedback come after he mentioned final month “this isn’t the time to alter the settings that they’ve bought on the FBT reduction for electrical automobiles” following the Australian Authorities saying final December it can overview its EV subsidy scheme.
“The federal government’s printed purpose is to see 50 per cent of the market shopping for electrical automobiles by 2035. They’re nowhere close to that, and so they’re not monitoring in direction of that,” he mentioned.
As a substitute, Mr Maynard has referred to as on the federal government to deal with gross sales incentives for combustion automobiles equivalent to diesel-powered dual-cab utes, which may qualify for FBT exemptions if the automobiles supplied to employees by employers are used just for “restricted personal use”.
As such, drivers are required to maintain correct information to show their work ute isn’t used “because the household taxi” or “for weekend private journeys” – based on the Australian Taxation Workplace – with the intention to be eligible for FBT exemption.
“All of us settle for that electrical automobiles current Australian drivers now with enough selection, a decrease working price, and automobiles which might be enjoyable to drive and simple to personal, and all of us settle for that there’s tangible and measurable well being advantages to the cleaner air that they are going to present us,” Mr Maynard mentioned final month.
“But we don’t suppose twice in regards to the billions of {dollars} the federal government is sinking into the sale of dual-cab utes to the purpose the place now we’re promoting one and a half instances the [number of] utes than we now have tradespeople.
“We’re promoting these items with an FBT subsidy of costs in extra of $200,000. That would appear to me to be a a lot simpler win than going after a nook of the market that’s doing good issues and never sufficient of them.”
Business automobiles equivalent to dual-cab utes are additionally not topic to Luxurious Automobile Tax (LCT) like a lot of Polestar’s electrical automobile lineup, which applies a 33 per cent tax for each greenback spent over the outlined luxurious automotive value threshold.
‘Gas-efficient automobiles’ by authorities definition are topic to a better threshold – at present $91,397 versus $80,567 for non-‘fuel-efficient automobiles’ – and this definition was just lately revised to check with a automobile that makes use of lower than 3.5L/100km of gasoline on the mixed take a look at cycle.
As just lately because the 2022-23 monetary 12 months, the Prompt Asset Write-Off scheme allowed companies to say new business automobiles as much as the worth of $150,000 for each new and used automobiles. That was just lately lowered to $20,000 as a part of the 2023-25 Finances.
In 2025, gentle business automobiles accounted for 273,229 deliveries in Australia, with EVs accounting for 103,270 new registrations. EV market share was 8.3 per cent for all new automobiles in 2025, up from 7.4 per cent in 2024.
The expansion in EV and PHEV gross sales has been attributed to – a minimum of partly – authorities incentives like FBT breaks for novated leases. Nonetheless, present market share is effectively off the federal government’s purpose of fifty per cent in 9 years’ time.
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