The Clean Energy Finance Corporation (CEFC), an Australian government-owned body that invests in green projects to combat climate change, has announced an up to $20.5 million investment to make electric vehicle loans cheaper and discounted for prospective EV buyers.
The investment goes directly to Taurus Motor Finance and their loans for electric vehicles. It’s estimated that the investment will generate $100 million of ‘green finance’ for Australian drivers.
Green finance is an investment or financial move undertaken with the climate and environment in mind. AKA: it’s the CEFC’s beat.
“As more Australians consider buying an EV to cut their carbon footprint, more affordable finance will provide a powerful incentive to convince them to commit,” the CEFC head of debt markets Richard Lovell said.
“Increasing the number of EVs on Australian roads will also foster the development and roll-out of the smart charging infrastructure needed to support them. More accessible EV chargers will in turn encourage more people to consider switching to an EV.”
So, how will these EV loans work? Well, aside from all of the usual criteria that need to be met to issue a loan under Australian law, there are also a few other caveats.
Firstly, the loans are entirely managed through Taurus Motor Finance, so the finance has to be through them. Secondly, it extends only to all battery-electric vehicles and plug-in hybrid vehicles (not hybrids) under $90,000.
Provided you fulfil this criterion, you should be able to receive a discounted interest rate, compared to that of a petrol-engine vehicle. AAP reports that this discount could save a buyer up to $1,300 over a seven-year loan for a $48,000 vehicle.
Playing with that price point, you could save up to $3,500 more with a rebate, depending on which state you live in. This brings that $48,000 cost down to a potential $44,000.
“We’re delighted to receive this support from CEFC which will support the work we are doing with EV Direct to accelerate the transition of Australian consumers to a cleaner and greener future,” Taurus founders and co-CEOs David Giffin and Satyajit Pal added.
If ‘EV Direct’ sounds familiar to you, that’s because it’s the company that’s handling Australian sales for Chinese EV maker BYD. The company recently released the BYD Atto 3 in Australia (which we loved).
“Cost has been one of the biggest barriers to EV uptake in Australia. For the first time the Australian consumer has a genuine choice between and EV and an ICE vehicle and we are excited to support this green funding initiative,” the CEO and managing director of EV Direct Luke Todd said.
Getting more EVs on the road is absolutely a good thing. I’m really excited to see more electric vehicles at cheaper prices, and the CEFC’s electric vehicle loan plan should absolutely help.