Electric vehicle drivers in Australia's capital will save hundreds of dollars in registration fees every year in a redesigned scheme to encourage the adoption of low-emission vehicles.
Hybrid cars will also be cheaper to register in the ACT when the system is introduced in July but some sports cars, hot rods and other high-polluting vehicles will attract higher charges.
Energy and climate groups welcomed the move, calling the revised fees a nation-leading development that could help Australia catch up to other countries in the race to electrify transport.
ACT Chief Minister Andrew Barr announced the policy change on Wednesday, revealing the territory would stop charging for registration based on a vehicle's weight and instead use its level of carbon emissions.
The changes would mean the price of registering an electric Hyundai Kona would fall from from $599 to $329 - the lowest charge - and the price of a hybrid Toyota Camry would fall to $365.
Utes and other light commercial vehicles would pay the same rate of registration while lightweight but high-emitting vehicles, such as sports cars, would cost $50 more to register.
"These new initiatives are designed to ensure we have an appropriate vehicle registration system for the future," Mr Barr said.
"They will see lower fees for lower emission vehicles, including for lower emitting petrol and diesel vehicles."
The scheme is expected to cost $6.6 million over four years and will come into force in July following a two-year free registration period for new and used zero-emission vehicles.
ACT Energy Minister Shane Rattenbury said the new policy would ensure electric vehicles were "a more affordable option for more Canberrans" and would support the territory's ban on petrol and diesel car registrations by 2035.
"Zero-emissions vehicles continue to gain momentum in the ACT, with registrations doubling from 2021 to 2022," he said.
Electric vehicles made up 9.5 per cent of all new car purchases in the ACT last year, outnumbering sales in other parts of Australia.
Smart Energy Council chief executive John Grimes said the territory's new approach to registration should set a precedent for other governments to follow.
"Electric vehicles are already cheaper to fill up and maintain compared to a petrol or diesel car and now they'll be cheaper to register too," he said.
Mr Grimes said the emissions-based registration scheme would be similar to programs in countries such as Norway, where 79.3 per cent of new vehicles sold were electric models.
Climate Council advocacy head Jennifer Rayner said as well as lowering the cost of electric vehicles, the ACT's scheme could educate motorists on the impact of their car choices.
"Personal transport is Australia's fastest growing source of greenhouse gas emissions and our second biggest source of climate pollution," she said.
Other states and territories to offer discounts for electric vehicle registrations include Victoria, Queensland, South Australia and the Northern Territory, though Victoria also imposed a road-user tax for low-emission vehicles last year.
