Australia is finally adopting emissions standards – will electric vehicles become cheaper?

EV carmakers such as BYD will be able to sell their credits in a trading scheme, potentially enabling lower manufacturing costs. Photograph: Jennifer Dudley-Nicholson/AAP

Carmakers are crunching the numbers on the federal government’s new vehicle efficiency standard (NVES) to make plans for what is shaping up to be a very different new car market by the end of the decade.

Some models could be discontinued or get more expensive, while more fuel efficient vehicles and EVs look set to be cheaper – and we’ll almost certainly have a broader range of hybrid and electric models to choose from.