Australia’s high-polluting utes spark calls to change fuel-efficiency laws

Climate Council report says carmakers funnelling their least efficient utes to Australia due to lack of fuel-efficiency standards

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Australia's top-selling utes are among the most expensive and polluting vehicles to run and their popularity means transport emissions are projected to remain high as manufacturers funnel their least efficient models to the Australian market due to a lack of fuel-efficiency standards.

In its Ute Beauty! report the Climate Council argues that while the goal to decarbonise transport in Australia has to rely on electric vehicles including utes in the long term, this won't happen overnight" and new laws are needed in the interim to shift Australians away from high-polluting utes and into the most efficient models on the market over the next decade.