Victoria’s electric vehicle discount program, dubbed the Zero Emissions Vehicle (ZEV) Subsidy, is being wrapped up 11 months early.
As first reported by the Australian Associated Press, the program was originally being run from May 2021 to May 2024, but now it’s ending at the end of this month – on June 30, 2023, according to the Solar Victoria website (the department handling the subsidies). AAP noted that support for the subsidy program had been officially dropped as of Victoria’s budget in May.
“The Victorian government’s target is for half of all light vehicle sales in Victoria to be ZEVs by 2030,” the website reads.
One Australian state junks its $3000 electric car discount 11 months early. https://t.co/IdYogkB5wP via @YahooNewsAU
— Jen Dudley-Nicholson (@jendudley) June 7, 2023
The subsidy was designed to assist up to 20,000 electric vehicle buyers with a $3,000 subsidy. The subsidy detracts from the total cost of an electric vehicle, hypothetically bringing the price of an MG ZS EV (the cheapest EV in Australia) down to $41,990 from $44,990.
Victoria was one of the first states to adopt an electric vehicle discount, and today, Queensland, New South Wales, the ACT, South Australia, and Western Australia all operate electric vehicle subsidy programs. Queensland is special for this in particular, as in April, it bumped up its subsidy from $3,000 to $6,000 – the most generous electric vehicle-focused subsidy in the country by far.
It’s also worth mentioning that Victoria was also the first state to adopt an electric vehicle road-use tax, which actually developed into a High Court case.
Electric vehicle buyers in Victoria will still be eligible for a $500 registration discount over five years, and the Victorian government is still continuing its plan to roll out electric vehicle charging stations across the state.
Gizmodo Australia has reached out to the office of the Minister for Climate Action, Energy and Resources and the State Electricity Commission Lily D’Ambrosio for comment.
At the time of writing, 2,064 more electric vehicles can be purchased with the assistance of the $3,000 subsidy before it is wrapped up on June 30 at 6 pm.
This article has been updated since it was originally published.