New data shows Queenslanders living in regional and remote areas are shunning electric vehicles due to range anxiety, with ownership amounting to only about 10 per cent of the total number of the state's registered electric vehicles.
Drivers in the south-east — including Brisbane, the Sunshine Coast and the Gold Coast — are leading the electric car transition, accounting for about 90 per cent of all registered electric vehicles (EVs).
That figure is despite just under a third of all Queenslanders living outside the major cities and inner-regional local government areas.
Figures from the Department of Transport and Main Roads show 16,731 vehicles were registered across the state since the sale of EVs in Australia took off in 2011.
But fewer than 1,700 are registered outside Queensland's south-eastern corner.
A practical switch
Susan de Boer is one of a small number of north Queenslanders who has recently bought an electric vehicle.
The Townsville local said it was the right time for her to make the switch.
"It was really a practicality. We have solar at home and we loved the thought that we could charge for free," Ms de Boer said.
"For doing my daily commute, it's perfect. It's like charging your phone, it couldn't be simpler."
She also cited the increased cost of used cars as being a deciding factor to take the plunge.
For motorists with shorter-range vehicles, trips spanning longer distances through the vast Queensland state can be difficult.
For Ms de Boer, whose car has a maximum range of 320 kilometres on a single charge, this hit home when planning a trip in December.
"We cancelled our Christmas trip because we weren't sure how reliable [the charger] would be, and with a toddler in the car you can't really take any chances," she said.
"I think we just need to overcome the range anxiety issues. It really does have a huge impact on how you think about your car and how you plan ahead."
Connecting vast distances
The state government is expanding its Queensland Electric Super Highway further west, installing 24 new fast chargers to connect towns including Charters Towers, Mount Isa and Longreach.
Once this next phase of the project is completed, travellers should be able to charge in 55 locations in addition to hundreds of public stations around the state.
Head of public policy at RACQ Michael Kane said while ramping up charging infrastructure will build confidence, the high purchase price of EVs along with range anxiety were deterring many regional drivers.
"The engagement with EVs drops quite dramatically with Queenslanders living around 20-30 kilometres from a town centre or CBD," Dr Kane said.
"There is a real city-country divide with EVs and that needs to be addressed and that will be partly education, but it will be about the technology improving.
"With the range anxiety, which really comes down to the battery capacity and the battery density, that will improve over time."
The national body representing the electric vehicle industry in Australia said regional drivers wanting to make the switch may find existing infrastructure unable to meet demand.
"There might not be as ready accessibility to servicing for EVs, because car manufacturers and service places will tool up the centres where they've got higher volumes first," Ross de Rango from the Electric Vehicle Council said.
"If you've got charging stations where there is a single charger at the location and it's out of action or there's a long queue, that's potentially a much more serious issue."
Bridging the infrastructure gap
The RACQ said the full-scale electrification of transport is the only way Australia can meet the national goal of net zero emissions by the year 2050.
But Dr Kane said the technology alone would not be an alternative solution to all the transport needs for regional and remote Australians, especially for heavy vehicles.
Instead, the peak motoring body said a combination of synthetic and biofuels, low-emission and electric technology will ensure the regions reap the environmental and economic benefits.
"It would be very unfair for this technology to drive down transport costs in urban Australia and not to drive down costs in regional Australia," Dr Kane said.
"Electrification of [all] transport is challenging and is not ready now, but as we think about longer term it's too important not to make it work."
Mr de Rango said Australia is only at the start of a decades-long renewable energy transition.
"The fact that these transitions are happening first in the city doesn't mean they aren't also going to come to the country," he said.
"Ensuring we are able to bring the regions along and transition those cars, trucks, buses and farm machinery to electric … it's a big job."
