Australia has the resources and expertise to be a world leader in producing electric car batteries, but was not being taken seriously by the international community because of its lack of commitment to the industry, a Victorian parliamentary committee has heard.
"(We have) the world's largest conserves of mineral resources (lithium, copper, cobalt, nickel, graphite) that are required for batteries ... as well as the people with the skills and expertise to process, manufacture, re-purpose and recycle those batteries," the Electric Vehicle Council said on Wednesday.
The council's chief executive Behyad Jafari told the committee looking into the future of electric cars that while Australia has rich reserves of minerals needed to make the batteries, the national market is six to seven years behind the rest of the world.
"It's increasingly difficult (for companies) to take Australia seriously in this regard because they're waiting for us to catch up," Mr Jafari said.
By 2025, he expected the manufacturing of electric cars to be cheaper than traditional vehicles.
Mr Jafari also urged action in Australia to avoid the huge future cost of retrofitting apartments, car parks and other infrastructure with electric car charging points.
"Not having that coordinated approach looks like reaching that 2025 period when the vehicles start to look cheaper than an internal combustion engine ... and we have to start retrofitting buildings, infrastructure," he told the Economy and Infrastructure Committee in Melbourne.
Electric vehicles also had the potential to help stabilise the grid, by getting consumers to charge their cars at particular times, and even put energy back into it, Mr Jafari added.
He called for incentives, such as lower stamp duty and registration costs, for electric and zero-emission vehicles to boost sales and make Australia more attractive for overseas players.
In an earlier submission to the committee, South Korean car maker Hyundai called for similar electric and zero-emission car incentives, including the introduction of preferential parking arrangements.
It also wanted the federal government to direct the Clean Energy Finance Corporation to fund the roll-out of green car technology.
