Australia lagging on electric cars and tax breaks needed to drive demand – report

Australia Institute wants free access to bus lanes after electric cars accounted for just 0.1% of new car sales in 2015

Tax breaks and free access to bus lanes should be used to help reverse Australia's poor uptake of electric vehicles, a new report has said.

Australians remain deeply reluctant to buy electric cars, which accounted for just 0.1% of new car sales in 2015. Australia is increasingly falling behind other countries, particularly in Europe, where sales of electric cars represented 1.2% of new European Union car sales in the same year.