New South Wales Government Electrifies Fleet Revolution

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Government seed funding is successfully helping the small business vehicle fleet transition to electric. I recently wrote about ARENA’s national push for more batteries across the country.

At a state level, NSW is encouraging fleets of vehicles to go electric. New South Wales has a Labour Party government (Democrats). The NSW government Kick Start funding program has already allocated $AU 9 million to help small businesses buy electric vehicles and install charging infrastructure. To be eligible, these businesses must have a fleet of at least 3 vehicles and can be funded to purchase up to 15. Vehicle grants vary from $AU 5,000 for a passenger vehicle to $AU 8,000 for a light commercial vehicle (5 ton); right up to $AU 50,000 for a heavy commercial (23 t). “The incentive provides funding to cover part of the upfront purchase price gap between an EV and an equivalent Internal Combustion Engine vehicle.”

With battery electric passenger vehicle sales in Australia passing the 25% threshold, it is now time to look at incorporating other forms of electric vehicles into fleets. Here are some success stories:

STARTTS

The NSW Service for the Treatment and Rehabilitation of Torture and Trauma Survivors (STARTTS) is transitioning its fleet to electric vehicles. STARTTS CEO Jorge Aroche believes that organisations can “drive real change for the future…. It wasn’t just about reducing emissions — it was about aligning our actions with our values.”
STARTTS provide treatment, support and community interventions for refugees who are rebuilding their lives in Australia. They have 11 offices across NSW, and identified EVs as a crucial part of their strategy to reduce their environmental impact.

With the help of funding from the NSW EV fleets incentive, STARTTS has been able to introduce 22 EVs to its fleet of 69 vehicles. The introduction of these vehicles has reduced fuel and maintenance costs, alongside their overheads and emissions.

“The cost of installing charging stations is being offset by fuel savings and lower maintenance costs,” Jorge says. “EVs require less servicing than traditional vehicles which means long-term financial benefits. There’s also less fleet administration required because the cars don’t need to be booked in for regular servicing; no one needs to spend hours coordinating that.” See his interview here.

Jorge gives this advice for those seeking to electrify their fleet — start small, with a pilot project, then scale up; get the infrastructure right; educate and engage with staff. No point having the cars if no one wants to drive them. Seek out government incentives.

Cato

CATO Group took this advice to heart and started with one delivery truck.

“CATO Group is a traffic management and logistics company that supports film, television and major events across New South Wales and Queensland, with their main office in Sydney. As part of its sustainability goals, the business wanted to explore cleaner and more efficient ways to run its operations.”

CATO plans to expand its EV fleet over the next two years as more commercial models become available. The company will continue to monitor performance and share its experience with others in the industry.

“We have proven the vehicles can do the job,” says Kieran Cato, Managing Director of CATO Group. “The next step is scaling up. For us it is about showing leadership and helping normalise EVs in the commercial space. The kick-start funding made it possible to move faster. We had been talking about EVs for a while, but this gave us the push we needed to make it happen.”

PM Electric and AAT

PM Electric and Australian Amalgamated Terminals have also benefitted from the NSW government’s kick start program. You can watch the video here. It is great to see the row of MG4’s charging behind Evan Wissell, Terminal Manager for AAT in Port Kembla. AAT handles 500 vessels per year. PM Electric is a Sydney based electrical contractor — so EVs are a natural fit.

AAT has been working to decarbonise its Port Kembla Port Terminal operation since 2018. The company reduced its overall site electricity consumption by around 1.3M kWh (-49%) by replacing its metal halide lighting with LEDs. A bank of about 100 kWH solar panels was installed to supplement the power requirements for the warehouse. More solar panels will be installed to power the 6 MG4 electric vehicles.

These 6 EVs form part of the 44-strong fleet of light vehicles used to move staff and manage day-to-day logistics around the port terminals. AAT has chosen the MG4 Excite sedan equipped with 64 kWh batteries. As part of the scheduled replacement program, AAT is planning to commission electric MPV’s and buses, as part of their carbon neutral aim.

TAFE NSW

Technical And Further Education New South Wales has introduced 35 electric vehicles to its fleet for staff who have to move between campuses, and 15 chargers have been installed. Unfortunately, I can only see Kia’s pictured. Over the next 12 months TAFE NSW is planning to introduce another 75 electric vehicles to the fleet and install an additional 47 charging stations. TAFE is one of the state’s largest education providers for post–high school students offering courses in trades and professions. And, yes, the kids have some cars to pull to pieces and play with.

Manny Kallis, Fleet Manager TAFE NSW, wisely says: Careful planning delivers solutions that are fit for purpose. Overall, Manny rates the transition as a success. “Invest in the planning, the people and the process, and the result will be worth it.”

Strong and supportive government policies, coupled with business knowhow is moving Australia towards a brighter, less polluted future. Come on, Aussie, come on.