STRONG support for Australia’s electric car discount program – under threat of ending by the federal government – has surged from a broad coalition of organisations across the energy, automotive, finance, disability, environmental and consumer sectors.

The coalition – which includes finance and leasing industry associations, car-makers, automotive aftermarket representatives and environmental groups – is urging the national cabinet to rule out any changes to the electric car discount in the May 2026 Budget, as Australia faces a worsening fuel crisis.

Rohan Martin, CEO NALSPA at Parliament House on Monday

Climate minister Chris Bowen confirmed on the ABC’s Insiders on March 22 that further announcements on the electric car discount are planned for the May 2026 Budget following a statutory review.

However, the coalition of supporters said the scale of the current fuel shock and the instability affecting global supply, together with Australia’s longer-term emissions targets, “means that it is critical for the Albanese government to not make change and commit to its longer-term future”.

The 30–plus organisations in the coalition to maintain the EV discount now want the national cabinet to agree that no changes be made to the discount “recognising its role in helping households shield themselves from global fuel shocks and reducing Australia’s dependence on imported oil”.

Independent MP Monique Ryan backed this call saying: “The families who are the most energy secure right now are those with solar, home batteries, and electric vehicles”.

“The FBT exemption has driven more than 105,000 additional EV purchases since 2022 and tripled the size of the second-hand EV market. This is the kind of policy success we should be accelerating, not abandoning.”

The MTA NSW/ACT said it was “the wrong time to remove the only consumer incentive that makes switching away from volatile fuel costs a financially viable option for everyday Australians”. 

Collin Jennings, MTA NSW/ACT head of government relations

The MTA NSW/ACT, which represents more than 3150 member businesses and 28,000 workers across NSW and the ACT, said its call follows its formal submission to the statutory review of the ECD and aligns with the position of the Electric Vehicle Council.

MTA NSW/ACT head of government relations, Collin Jennings, said that  Australian families were feeling the pressure at the bowser “like never before”.

“The families who are the most energy secure right now are those who have already made the switch to electric. This is exactly the moment to be making EVs more accessible, not less.”

Australia’s peak body for novated leasing, National Automotive Leasing and Salary Packaging Association (NALSPA), said the Coalition’s call to scrap the discount during a fuel crisis makes no sense.

It said the Coalition plans to end the EV discount which it said was helping Australians avoid petrol and its price shocks for good, in order to fund a short three-month halving of the fuel excise.

“Any proposal to cut or reduce the EV discount during the middle of a fuel crisis is irrational,” said NALSPA CEO Rohan Martin.

“It makes no sense to cut a policy that is helping Australians avoid petrol forever purely to fund a cut to the fuel excise which will last just three months.
“Instead of pursuing short-sighted measures, Australia’s policy focus should be on protecting practical policies that provide genuine, long-term relief to motorists, such as the EV discount.

“We’re not against halving the fuel excise temporarily but we shouldn’t be artificially drawing a link to the electric car discount – it’s a highly effective long-term policy of the Albanese government that is helping Australians to reduce their cost of living and is actually deeply in the nation’s energy and fuel security interests.

“The more new EVs Australians buy, the more second-hand EVs will come onto the market which broadens affordability and access even more.

“The workers who are using the electric car discount the most are those living in the outer suburbs, including Werribee in Victoria, Kellyville in NSW and Springfield in Queensland. 

“These are the families that tend to commute longer distances and are hit with huge fuel bills.”

The MTA NSW’s Collin Jennings said that more than 114,000 Australians had switched to EVs under the scheme, with real and measurable savings on running costs flowing to household budgets as petrol costs skyrocket. 

“The EV discount has delivered exactly what it was designed to do,” he said.“EV market share has grown from 2 per cent to over 13 per cent since its introduction, with more than 114,000 Australians already making the switch. This is not the time to pull back.”

The ECD works in tandem with the New Vehicle Efficiency Standard (NVES) to form a coherent policy framework for decarbonising Australia’s light vehicle fleet. 

While the NVES creates supply-side pressure on manufacturers to bring cleaner vehicles to market, the ECD stimulates consumer demand. 

Mr Jennings said both elements were essential and that “without strong demand-side measures, the NVES risks becoming either unachievable for manufacturers or a source of higher vehicle prices passed on to consumers”.

This weekend’s media reports that Australia is exposed to an increasingly volatile global fuel supply environment, which the Prime Minister has warned could worsen if current disruptions continue. 

The organisations argue that removing or weakening the discount would expose

households to even greater fuel-price volatility, just as petrol surges past $3 per litre in many areas across the country. 

“The Albanese government must protect the EV discount which is providing genuine, long-term relief to motorists and is a key enabler to Australia achieving its greenhouse gas emissions reduction targets,” the organisations said.

The coalition organisations – which issued its joint statement from the KeepEV campaign – comprises the Electric Vehicle Council, Rewiring Australia, the Clean Energy Council, the National Automotive Leasing and Salary Packaging Association, the Australian Finance Industry Association, the Motor Traders Association of Australia, the Australasian Fleet Management Association, BYD, Polestar, Tesla, Positive Salary Packaging, EVSE, enreal, Volkswagen Financial Services, Suzuki, GVA, MotorOne Group, Shoprite, Rubbertree, GWM, Inside Edge, Achieve Australia, EV Dealer Group, Autoleague, Automotive Leasing, Pepper Money, First Nations Finance, Unisson Disability, Driva, Tynan Motors and Uniting.