Ben Lippa,a self-described rev head,founded his import business J-Spec just over 22 years ago to import highly modified “drift” cars to Australia,but today finds many of his customers are seeking electric cars such as the first-generation Nissan Leaf,which is no longer available. (New Nissan Leafs are still imported and sold in Australia).
J-Spec will source the car,test its battery and ensure it is legal to drive on Australian roads at a fraction of the cost of the high-end Teslas that are slowly pushing into the Australian market.
Nissan’s Leaf is still one of the world’s top-selling electric vehicles.
Due to importation and road safety regulations and the fact Australia,like Japan,drives on the left-hand side of the road,most of the cars are sourced from Japan.
Many are Nissan Leafs,but small transit vans are also becoming popular. Regulations prevent these small importers from bringing in models already available on the Australian market.
“The future is electric,anyone who can’t see that is lying to themselves,” he says. He still loves the internal combustion engine,even though about 15 per cent of his business is now electric.
In Hobart,Anthony Broese van Groenou,a PhD candidate at the University of Tasmania specialising in energy systems,co-founded The Good Car Company out of frustration at what he sees as a lack of EV policy direction from Canberra.
Mr Broese van Groenou says he believes it will be impossible for Australia to meet its emissions reductions targets without rapidly electrifying its car fleet. But without federal incentives the process is not moving fast enough,he says.
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.
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,first generation 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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