The PLUG-IN HYBRID ELECTRIC VEHICLE in remote Australia: a further CASE STUDY 2016–2021
LEX FULLARTON AND DALE PINTO
Abstract
Since the beginning of the 19th century, the natural environment of the planet has been placed
under the dire threat of climate change. This has been caused by greenhouse gas (GHG)
emissions from the burning of fossil fuels. GHG emissions threaten to alter the planet’s
ecosystems disastrously and permanently. Statistics reveal that Australian individuals are
among the highest GHG emitters on the planet, and that the transport sector contributes
nearly one-fifth of the nation’s GHG emissions. It is suggested that significant reductions in
Australian GHG emissions are urgently required, and it is considered that those reductions
might be helped by a transition to electric vehicles (EVs) in the transport sector.
This paper looks at the consumption of motor vehicle fuels in Australia’s transport sector and
suggests how a reduction in GHG emissions might be achieved. It suggests that the
electrification of Australian motor vehicles could eliminate up to 20 per cent of existing
Australian GHG emissions. The paper presents further findings from a case study that was
conducted on a Mitsubishi Outlander Plug-in Electric Hybrid Vehicle (PHEV) in remote
Western Australia from 2016–17. That study is updated and extended in this paper to
October 2021.
The paper uses published statistical data from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation
and Development (OECD) and Australian government agencies to support its findings,
conclusions and suggestions for further research. It looks at the rate of transition to electric
vehicles and concludes that, while the transport sector’s growing contribution to Australia’s
overall GHG emissions could be significantly reduced by the transition to electric vehicles,
there is some way to go. The paper suggests that there are significant economic factors
inhibiting the adoption of electric vehicles in Australia. However, rising fuel prices could
encourage the transition away from vehicles powered by environmentally damaging internal
combustion engines towards electric vehicles in Australia.