More than 140 of the Commonwealth's low mileage, diesel-powered luxury BMWs will be churned back onto the second-hand market in the next 18 months as a result of the Federal government's ramped-up plans for a major electric vehicle fleet transition.
Federal Minister for Climate Change and Energy Chris Bowen, who drives a Tesla Model3 electric vehicle as his personal transport, has pledged to transition 75 per cent of the federal government's 10,000-strong fleet of internal combustion vehicles to electric as they begin to come off their customary three-year leases.
Early last year the Department of Finance, which is on charge of the Commonwealth (COMCAR) fleet, initiated a small-scale study of electric vehicles, leasing just two cars - a Hyundai Ioniq and a Tesla Model3 - to assess how well they would suit fleet needs.
Part of the study was to examine what recharging infrastructure would need to be installed in Commonwealth fleet holding yards to keep the vehicles charged up and ready to operate.
The previous Coalition government had been dismissive of the rising demand for electric vehicles in Australia, former Prime Minister Scott Morrison famously declaring during the 2019 election campaign that they would "ruin your weekend".
Around 18 months ago, a major vehicle trial was held by the Department of Finance to determine the most suitable replacement for the ageing executive vehicle fleet of 142 white Holden Caprices used to convey parliamentarians to and from their official tasks within the ACT, and mostly involving airport pickups.
That executive fleet assessment - involving around 18 different cars including the Hyundai Genesis, Mercedes-Benz E-Class and BMW X5 SUV - was whittled down to eight finalists and eventually won by BMW.
The much-loved, Australian-made Caprices, with their sprawling rear passenger space, huge boots and V8 engines, were sent off to auction.
The black BMWs chosen to replace them were BMW 620d GT models, powered by a 2.0-litre turbo-diesel four cylinder engine. Reports from within COMCAR suggest the BMWs have not been a popular substitute, largely due to the tighter rear cabin space.
There is a significant amount of healthy business to be gleaned for vehicle importers in government fleet sales, with 28,520 vehicles sold or leased to the Commonwealth, the states and territories in 2021 according to vehicle industry official data.
Minister Bowen told the National Press Club in June that the federal government alone had around 10,000 vehicles and "our commitment [is] to take the Commonwealth fleet to, in the first instance, 75 per cent no emissions".
This plan rules out substituting hybrid vehicles like the Toyota Camry and RAV4, which are a low emission vehicles, not zero-emission, and still use an internal combustion engine.
"The Commonwealth turns over its cars every three years," he said.
"That leads into the second-hand market. At the moment you can't buy a second-hand electric car in Australia and, as we all know, if you really want an affordable car it's almost certainly a second-hand car.
"When the Commonwealth fleet starts to roll through and we have the Commonwealth disposing of its electric vehicles in three years after they've been purchased, you start to get [EV cars into] the second-hand market."
After local vehicle manufacturing finally folded in 2017, the government purchase preference for Australian made cars vanished. Any vehicles chosen to join government fleets have to satisfy a number of stringent criteria including a five-star ANCAP safety rating.
The Department of Finance has been contacted for further clarification on plans for its electric vehicle fleet transition.
