Sold out: why Australia doesn’t have enough electric vehicles to go around

[kmav23]

https://www.theguardian.com/environm...s-to-go-around


Waiting lists of thousands, cars selling out in seconds – welcome to the frustrating world of the Australian EV buyer

Sun 27 Mar 2022

Matt Holding set an alarm on his phone so he wouldn’t miss out on a limited release of electric vehicles, but by the time he jumped online to buy one they had sold out.

In six and a half minutes, all 109 of Hyundai’s electric SUVs had sold – 18,000 Australians had registered their interest.

“You’ve just got to keep on trying and get in there straight away, which seems ridiculous when you’re purchasing an $80,000 car,” Holding says of the second time he tried to beat the queue to buy Hyundai’s Ioniq 5.

An electric car gets charged at a supermarket carpark in Sydney, Australia
SA environment minister challenges Morrison government to ‘fast-track’ electric vehicle transition

The pace at which the cars sold out is part of a broader issue, according to leaders in the industry, as the demand for them in Australia now outstrips supply.

“Our biggest issue now is actually attracting supply of electric vehicles, not getting Australians interested in buying them,” says Behyad Jafari, the chief executive of the Electric Vehicle Council.

Jafari says Australia is underserved in EVs compared with many other countries due to a lack of government EV and climate policies. The majority of EVs are instead flowing to countries that require car manufacturers to sell them in order to meet fuel efficiency standards and CO2 emission reduction schemes. The UK has banned the sale of all new petrol-run cars by 2030, in South Korea the date is 2025.

Last year, the Morrison government announced it would partner with the private sector to fund 50,000 EV charging stations in homes, 500 for businesses and 1,000 in public areas. This is one part of the government’s $2.1bn funded future fuels and vehicle strategy. A spokesperson for the energy minister, Angus Taylor, said the strategy will make “it easier for Australians to make the choice to switch to a new technology vehicle that’s right for them”.

But Australia remains the only country in the OECD not to have fuel efficiency standards for CO2. Nor has Australia adopted the Euro 6 noxious emission standards on fuel quality, which was applied to all new cars sold in the EU more than six years ago.

“Australia is not in the race,” says Jafari. “Our partners in the US and Europe and right around the world have a much easier time because there’s a requirement for them to get enough electric vehicles into their markets.”

Last year carmakers warned there would be production cuts due to supply chain issues resulting from the pandemic. But Hyundai Australia’s general manager of corporate affairs, Bill Thomas, says the fact that there are not enough EVs available in Australia is mainly due to a lack of incentives to sell the cars here, rather than supply chain issues.

In Australia, there is a six to nine-month wait on Tesla models. Car manufacturer Kia could only secure 500 of its new electric SUVs this year despite 20,000 Australians expressing interest.

Electric vehicle parking signage on a car park space

When Nathan Gore-Brown, an EV consultant, saw Honda confirm they had no plans to sell the electric car he wanted in Australia – the Honda E – he decided to import a used one from the UK. It cost between $15,000 and $20,000 to bring the almost $45,000 car to Australia.

Gore-Brown says a major issue stalling EV uptake is that Australia does not get the same choice of models as many other countries, and what is sent here is often delayed. Car manufacturer Škoda announced their electric SUV Enyaq would be sold in Australia in 2023, three years after it was first sold in the UK.

Thomas says the demand for Hyundai’s EVs has gradually increased since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine sent petrol prices soaring. “We’re seeing more discussions about EVs on the showroom floor,” he says.

“People are coming in to look at cars and they’re much more likely to talk about the potential for an EV, even more than they were two weeks ago.”

Hyundai has requested more EVs for the Australian market, but does not yet have confirmation they will be delivered. It hopes to secure a version of the Ioniq 5 model that is lower in price later this year.

Jafari says without government leadership on EVs, Australians have been left in a risky position. “Every year that we go on with Australians buying petrol vehicles, they’re at risk of buying a new vehicle that in four or five years’ time will be worthless … no one will want to buy it because it’s redundant technology,” he says.

“There essentially needs to be a warning that people are buying landlines when the world is moving towards mobile phones.”

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Due to the difficulty in securing an EV that was right for Holding’s family of four and a dog, he bought an internal combustion engine car four months ago to get him by.

“I did need a car, and it got the point I just couldn’t wait any more,” he says.

A spokesperson for the energy minister, Angus Taylor, said supply chain constraints were a global problem affecting vehicles and components.

“Despite these constraints, Australians already have the confidence to make the choice to drive an EV,” they said. “Battery EV sales are soaring, having tripled from 2020 to 2021.”

The spokesperson said the government’s modern manufacturing strategy was working to overcome global constraints and strengthen local production.

[naddis01]

Basically all cars have a waiting list at the moment. It doesn't make EV's any more special.

[Vesper Martini]

Not even Cars are special, there's plenty of product difficult to source atm.

[Bossxr8]

What a ridiculous article. A tiny market like ours, even with stricter emissions regs that would demand more EV's isn't going to make much difference in supply at all, because the supplies are going to countries with significantly higher numbers of sales.

The Escape is a prime example, we can't get supplies here due to European demand and semi-conductor shortages ensuring any excess allocations that we should have got just aren't arriving here.

And with EV's using significantly more semi-conductors per vehicle, where exactly do they think they can magically pull these extra supplies from?

It's supply that's the problem.

[rare ss]

LC70 landcruiser dual cabs are a 29 month wait... just saying

[kypez]

Originally Posted by Bossxr8

What a ridiculous article. A tiny market like ours, even with stricter emissions regs that would demand more EV's isn't going to make much difference in supply at all, because the supplies are going to countries with significantly higher numbers of sales.

The Escape is a prime example, we can't get supplies here due to European demand and semi-conductor shortages ensuring any excess allocations that we should have got just aren't arriving here.

And with EV's using significantly more semi-conductors per vehicle, where exactly do they think they can magically pull these extra supplies from?

It's supply that's the problem.

The type of semiconductor plays a bigger part than just simplifying to semiconductors. Most EVs use modern technology which chip manufacturers are happy to make. It's the outdated semiconductors that are in shortage. Phones, laptops, etc aren't being affected by supplies for this reason.

You are right though that we aren't a sales priority and not havingany meaningful policy around emissions wouldn't help.

Sent from my Pixel 5 using Tapatalk

[Vesper Martini]

In contrary the Semi conductor shortage started out with the demand for more advanced chips for the consumer electronics industry. the smartphone companies etc stockpiled.
Cars now have more Autonomous systems and displays.

its all and supply - I haven't read anything to suggest outdated semiconductors have longer lead times.

also are you suggesting an EV uses more advanced semiconductors than an ICE vehicle?

[JasonACT]

https://www.cnet.com/roadshow/news/f...shortage-2022/

Profitability is another issue Fiorani pointed out. The automotive industry requires older chips, ones that make semiconductor manufacturers less money. It takes only a fraction of the processing power to run a few parking sensors than it does an iPhone 13 Pro. Additionally, for safety, car companies use proven designs, reliable chips that function for decades in all temperatures, humidity levels and other conditions. Whether it's Nvidia, Texas Instruments, TSMC or any other manufacturer, chipmakers have been incentivized to produce more advanced semiconductors at the expense of their automotive customers.

[Crazy Dazz]

If you look back at something like the Mondeo, for a long while we were basically getting only the UK's surplus.

This is the problem with "Global Markets" and Australians having an over-inflated sense of our own importance.
If you got back 100 years, Australia was one of the few "modern" countries outside Europe and USA. And we were also one of the most wealthy.
So it made sense for auto-makers to look at us as valuable market.

Sure, we still have a sizeable economy, and a hugely important place in the global commodities markets. But with only 26M people, we are nolonger an important market for cars. Even GM basically said "CBF."

Frankly, I'm amazed that we still get the attention we do. If you consider the costs to market and support a new and different model, it's no wonder we're not a priority target for models already in short supply.

Yes, it will be really interesting to see if that changes under Each-Way Albo, or if he even comes good on his promise. But even if it comes off, and creates a huge shift in demand, the market won't be able to adjust instantly.

[Crazy Dazz]

Originally Posted by Vesper Martini

its all and supply - I haven't read anything to suggest outdated semiconductors have longer lead times.

It's evident in the computer market, that the most modern and most powerful chips are being prioritised. And naturally so, as that's where the most profit is to be made.
Going back to before Covid, it was possible to buy very cheap small laptops, using older/slower/cheaper chips, video, and RAM. They have all but disappeared.

My guess, when it comes to cars, is that they have tended to use cheaper, well-established, chipsets, rather than constantly updating. Many of the modules haven't fundamentally changed in 20 years.

Now how that effects EVs, or whether it effects them more or less, I wouldn't have a clue.

[fiestaz]

Welcome to the frustrating world of an EV buyer?

More like welcome to the current automotive industry... Buying a used car at a reasonable price and waiting times on many new cars are crazy right now... Can drive past many dealers and you can see how empty they compared to pre-covid.

[kypez]

Originally Posted by Vesper Martini

In contrary the Semi conductor shortage started out with the demand for more advanced chips for the consumer electronics industry. the smartphone companies etc stockpiled.
Cars now have more Autonomous systems and displays.

its all and supply - I haven't read anything to suggest outdated semiconductors have longer lead times.

also are you suggesting an EV uses more advanced semiconductors than an ICE vehicle?

Originally Posted by Crazy Dazz

It's evident in the computer market, that the most modern and most powerful chips are being prioritised. And naturally so, as that's where the most profit is to be made.
Going back to before Covid, it was possible to buy very cheap small laptops, using older/slower/cheaper chips, video, and RAM. They have all but disappeared.

My guess, when it comes to cars, is that they have tended to use cheaper, well-established, chipsets, rather than constantly updating. Many of the modules haven't fundamentally changed in 20 years.

Now how that effects EVs, or whether it effects them more or less, I wouldn't have a clue.

Well, I never thought I'd say this but Crazy Dazz is spot on. Advanced chipsets are being prioritised and the legacy chips are being neglected. The effort to make them for the returns is small.

Going back to Bossxr8's comment, EVs may use more chips but they use the more advanced chips rather than older chips. Sure, there will still be parts using older chips within an EV but their increased chip usage is linked to the newer chips vs legacy. Why an Escape would suffer is that it's still based on the older architecture and chips vs a Tesla which, until very recently, had been very resilient. The new Teslas are affected but it's a USB port her or there and cars can be delivered fully functional without those things. Reducing from 2 to 1 chip in the steering is another way to reduce dependencies. Heck, the Screen on the Tesla uses a gaming level chip similar to what you get on a PlayStation or Xbox... As much as I like Sync 4(a), it doesn't hold a candle to this system.

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[jgmdat]

kmav23 reads The Guardian, who would have thought.

[Ben73]

Wow. 109 Sold amazing!
Ford Sell about 120 Rangers a day.

The boring ICE mid size SUV we are buying for my wife has a huge waiting list. That must mean ICE cars are all the rage.

[prydey]

Originally Posted by rare ss

LC70 landcruiser dual cabs are a 29 month wait... just saying

At least you know the car won't be updated by the time you get it

[kypez]

Originally Posted by rare ss

LC70 landcruiser dual cabs are a 29 month wait... just saying

So, what I was saying about legacy chips...

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[Interceptor]

just as well I hate the wretched things then isnt it!

[Vekgib]

Originally Posted by rare ss

LC70 landcruiser dual cabs are a 29 month wait... just saying

Dunno which dealer is telling you that, but our waiting list for a 70 series dual cab is 6 to 8 months.

[rare ss]

Originally Posted by Vekgib

Dunno which dealer is telling you that, but our waiting list for a 70 series dual cab is 6 to 8 months.

That's not info from a dealer, we have a rather large backlog and those dates are for new orders, it may be a case of the dealers on the east getting allocations over the west but all the other major miners here are in the same boat over here

[stevefreestyle]

What a Crock.....Try buying a new Mustang !!

This article is completely corrupted by arguing out of context, conveniently ignoring the similar demand and stock shortages of rest of the Automotive Market, due to the Semiconductor Chip Shortages.

This is the typical "Cherry-Picking" inductive Duplicity that can be expected of the ultra-Left "The Guardian".

[stevefreestyle]

Originally Posted by Bossxr8

What a ridiculous article. A tiny market like ours, even with stricter emissions regs that would demand more EV's isn't going to make much difference in supply at all, because the supplies are going to countries with significantly higher numbers of sales.

The Escape is a prime example, we can't get supplies here due to European demand and semi-conductor shortages ensuring any excess allocations that we should have got just aren't arriving here.

And with EV's using significantly more semi-conductors per vehicle, where exactly do they think they can magically pull these extra supplies from?

It's supply that's the problem.

100% Spot On Boss !!

[ozrunner]

Originally Posted by kmav23

.......Waiting lists of thousands, cars selling out in seconds – welcome to the frustrating world of the Australian EV buyer............

You really are a wombat kmav. Can I remind you that you have approx 3 years left to get to your past magic prediction that by 2025 50% of new cars in Oz will be EV's.

I'm still finding it hard to understand how anyone with even an ounce of brains could have come up with such a dumb statement. Oh wait, there was another one, a guy called Bill Shorten so apologies you are not alone. You do know last year that EV annual sales were under 2% so when is this massive swing going to eventuate.

We've had a couple of newspaper reporters do real world country driving tests in Tesla's and their comments were not all beer and skittles. One guy reported on his Tesla drive from a small section of the Nullabor and his recharging report was an absolute riot not to mention he found the Tesla was a tad underwhelming. The time lost getting recharges to start and ensure he could cover a pitiful distance of 371klm's was hilariously insane and not a good advertisement for country use.

Dude you need to give it a rest as EV's will NEVER be a major player in OZ in our lifetime. Toyota and Nissan have publicly stated they will continue to make ICE for Oz for as long as required and others will most likely do the same.

[b0son]

Originally Posted by ozrunner

Dude you need to give it a rest as EV's will NEVER be a major player in OZ in our lifetime.

Not all of us have a terminal illness...

So many manufacturers have made it clear they are moving away from ICEs, its really just a question of how soon ICEs stop being offered by them at all. 2025-2030 is not at all unreasonable.

There are shortages of EVs, but then, there are shortages of all vehicles. It would be idiotic to conclude on that basis that cars are on their way out, no?

[b0son]

Originally Posted by kypez

So, what I was saying about legacy chips...

I wouldnt be at all surprised if automakers werent looking into the feasibility of their systems running on intel/AMD/ARM-based systems, stuff that is in constant production. It actually surprises me that things like Android auto dont come pre-embedded in off-the-shelf hardware platforms.

[Franco Cozzo]

You can keep your EV and your 79 series Land Cruiser, I've got my vegan magic carpet.

Well, might as well because we're real busy talking about **** we can't get our hands on anyway

[jpd80]

Bottom line is that China is prioritising chip supply for its own goods production, be that vehicles or electrical appliances the pain is being felt everywhere.

So not only are western ICE vehicle production being severely impacted but also any idea of rapid roll out of Chinese BEVs, simply because their own domestic market is on fire at the moment.

With the way prices are, maybe it’s a blessing that we can’t get all the vehicles that the Aussie market wants….

[kypez]

Originally Posted by b0son

I wouldnt be at all surprised if automakers werent looking into the feasibility of their systems running on intel/AMD/ARM-based systems, stuff that is in constant production. It actually surprises me that things like Android auto dont come pre-embedded in off-the-shelf hardware platforms.

Exactly what Tesla are doing.

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[mondeomatureguy]

Hi Guy's,
I don't think the Australian people are taken by the idea of EV not yet anyway.
There's a lot of hybrids around but i havent seen too many all Electric vehicles running around on the streets.
My now ten year Ford Mondeo petrol engine still gets 800
kms to a full tank of fuel.

I am not sure the range of an EV but it wouldnt be 800km to a full charge i dont think.
I cant imagine the Bathurst 1000 raceing EVs around the track for a thousand Kms.

[kypez]

Originally Posted by mondeomatureguy

Hi Guy's,

I don't think the Australian people are taken by the idea of EV not yet anyway.

There's a lot of hybrids around but i havent seen too many all Electric vehicles running around on the streets.

My now ten year Ford Mondeo petrol engine still gets 800

kms to a full tank of fuel.



I am not sure the range of an EV but it wouldnt be 800km to a full charge i dont think.

I cant imagine the Bathurst 1000 raceing EVs around the track for a thousand Kms.

Not sure if you're engaging in Satire/Sarcasm or you're being serious...

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[XD 351 Ute]

Imagine if we made them here, would there still be a shortage?
Semiconductor supplies aside.

Ed