Queensland EV incentives: new $3000 subsidy capped at $58,000, excluding many popular EVs and ALL Teslas

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The Queensland state government today announced a $3000 subsidy to encourage buyers to purchase an electric car, but a low price cap of $58,000 means the incentive is unavailable for buyers of the Tesla Model 3, Polestar 2, Hyundai Ioniq 5, Kia EV6 and many other popular EVs.

Coming into immediate effect as of March 16, the subsidy matches the amount announced by New, South Wales, Victoria and South Australia but with a maximum price ceiling of $58,000 – far less generous than the aforementioned states, with NSW capping its incentive at $68,750.

The move will limit eligibility for the $3000 subsidy to cheaper electric cars like the MG ZS EV (the second-most popular electric car among Australian buyers in 2021), as well as the Nissan Leaf, Hyundai Ioniq Electric, and the short-range Hyundai Kona Electric – plus the forthcoming BYD Atto 3.

A total of $45 million has been committed to fund the subsidy – sufficient to pay out 15,000 eligible buyers – with an additional $10 million allocated to build charging infrastructure across the Sunshine State.

Subsidy designed to encourage EV ownership

The move is designed to boost EV ownership to 50 percent of light vehicles by 2030 and 100 percent by 2036, to help the state achieve its net zero emissions target by 2050.

“We are going to make the cost of buying electric cars just that little bit cheaper,” Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said.

With electric vehicles still prohibitively more expensive than their combustion counterparts on average, the policy will work to make the technology more accessible to buyers.

Affordability has played a key role in the take up of electric vehicles in Australia, with seven of the 10 best-selling EVs and plug-in hybrids sold in 2021 available with a starting price of under $60,000. 

What electric vehicles qualify for the subsidy?

While the Tesla Model 3 and Polestar 2 sedans will not be eligible for the subsidy due to their respective starting prices of $63,900 and $61,400 (before on-roads), there is a growing list of vehicles that do qualify for the payout. 

These include the Nissan Leaf hatch, with a starting price of $49,990 (before on-roads), and the Hyundai Ioniq sedan ($49,970).

Newer options from Chinese manufacturers are also available, with the MG ZS EV small SUV priced from $46,990 driveaway and the upcoming BYD Atto 3 starts at under $50,000 drive away.

Hyundai also introduced a ‘standard range’ variant of the Kona Electric small SUV in 2021 which reduced the price of entry to $54,500 (before-on road costs) and the top-spec Highlander grade sits right on the limit of the threshold at $58,000.

More options are on the horizon for buyers seeking an affordable EV, with BYD promising to launch the Atto 2 hatchback by December 2022 and the Ace Yewt currently taking reservations.