A comprehensive new guide which shows how the Australian vehicle fleet is transitioning to hybrid and electric vehicles reveals how quickly the growth of these two vehicle technologies in the ACT has outstripped the rest of the country.
The Australian Automobile Association's EV Index is an online dashboard which reveals quarterly sales, which vehicles types are attracting consumer attention, and the geographic distribution of EV sales.
It shows how the the third and fourth quarter of 2022, sales of battery electric vehicles (BEVs) in the ACT ran at 12.8 per and 8.6 per cent of the local market, compared with a 4.6 and 4.5 per cent penetration across Australia.
There was a similar but less dramatic uptake for hybrids in the ACT during the last half of 2022, with market penetration jumping to 11.4 per cent in the final quarter, the highest in the country.
The online dashboard is the first step by the consumer automotive peak body to provide vehicle buyers with much-needed and comprehensive "one-stop shop" of online tools to help future vehicle choices.
The next major step by the AAA will be real-world emission testing, a $14 million program funded by the Commonwealth which is starting soon and will show the on-road emissions of the most popular vehicles sold in Australia.
Overseas results have revealed that conventional laboratory-based emissions testing - which has been the common standard in Australia for decades - is not reflective of what comes out of tailpipes when cars are driven on the public road.
There is also a big difference in laboratory-developed fuel consumption with only three out of 30 cars in a AAA pilot study using the same amount of fuel on the road as they did in the lab.
The AAA found during preliminary tests that Australian vehicles are using up to 60 per cent more fuel and producing up to 60 per cent more CO2 than the amount shown on the fuel consumption label affixed to the windscreens of new cars at point of sale. Additionally, noxious gas emissions have been found to be up to eight times the legal limit.
Certain to be revealed by the AAA testing will be the huge emissions disparity between laboratory and real world for popular hybrid and plug-in hybrid vehicles (PHEVs).
A recent "real-world" emissions test by European clean-air advocacy group Transport and Environment found that three popular PHEVs, the BMW X5, Volvo XC60 and Mitsubishi Outlander, emitted between 28 to 89 per cent more carbon dioxide, even on a fully charged battery in optimal conditions.
It was this type of "real-world" test - conducted eight years ago by US clean-air advocacy group International Council on Clean Transportation - which exposed the international diesel engine scandal operated by industry giant Volkswagen.
The ICCT real world test revealed how VW's diesel passenger cars included a devious software program which allowed it to "read" the steering angle of the vehicle.
Cars tested in an emissions laboratory are done so on a "rolling road" and the steering angle does not change. When VW's diesels were contained within the lab, the software switched engine mapping to a special test mode which emitted fewer emissions.
Only when the VW diesel cars were tested out on the public road, where the steering angle does change, was the ruse exposed and the German company became the subject of a global international emissions scandal which cost several of its most senior executives their jobs, and some $50 billion in settlements, fines, and legal costs.
The AAA has found during preliminary tests that Australian vehicles tare using up to 60 per cent more fuel and producing up to 60 per cent more CO2 than the amount shown on the fuel consumption label affixed to the windscreens of new cars at point of sale. Additionally, noxious gas emissions have been found to be up to eight times the legal limit.
