The Australian Financial Review has recently brought these issues to life with the stories of everyday families who have fallen into the unknown traps of purchasing an EV. Families simply want to improve their environmental impact but instead experience near-miss accidents, limited battery life, and EV manufacturers refusing to address consumer issues.

With more stories like these emerging, the human and environmental impact of failing to address these issues is becoming resoundingly clear – better consumer protection and policies are needed, and regulators must take notice.

The EV market is growing, and so is the need to prioritise critical EV laws, much the same as there is finally a realisation (at least in NSW and Queensland) of the need to invest in the critical infrastructure (e.g. charging stations).

China’s BYD outsold Tesla in the EV market in the last quarter of 2023, with a record 526,000 EVs sold. In Australia, EVs accounted for about 7 per cent of new car sales in 2023, compared to the global market of 18 per cent. Although, in Australia, the year-on-year increase in 2023 for battery EVs is a stellar 161 per cent, hybrid EVs is 20.4 per cent, and plug-in hybrid EVs is 89 per cent.

Second-hand EV sales will only increase, and it is inevitable that our cost and environmentally conscious community will lead the charge. But our laws are clearly not there yet. The unfortunate experience of the family referred to in the AFR article shows how critically important it is to have in place:

1. Roadworthy checks that are required to assess battery life;
2. Consumer guarantees relating to second-hand EVs, especially the battery life;
3. Accurate data from manufacturers as to the life expectancy of batteries (much like we have regulations around emissions and fuel consumption);
4. Degraded battery collection and recycling; and
5. Anti-dumping laws for old model EVs.

Adequate laws are necessary, therefore, to protect consumers who, being cost and environmentally conscious, make the decision to buy a second-hand EV in what is presently a poorly understood and regulated market.

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End-of-life issues will start emerging, as they have already in China, where there are fields of old EVs simply dumped with no attempt to recycle or reuse the material.

If we allow this to occur in Australia, the environmental benefit we gain from EVs is diminished considerably. The material and emissions that go into the manufacture of EV batteries and vehicles are not insubstantial (some may be surprised to learn). Therefore, its benefits can only truly be realised if they have longevity and are recycled/reused.

Precious metals such as nickel, lithium, and cobalt (all of which Australia mines and exports) are critical to EV batteries, and we should be reusing these. Maybe the technology isn’t quite there to reuse these metals, but no doubt it will be coming. This doesn’t mean Australian politicians and safety regulators shouldn’t be thinking and planning ahead.

We need our politicians and safety regulators to step on the peddle with laws to ensure the safety of these vehicles, as well as protect the human and environmental advantages the EV industry makes claim to.

Greg Spinda is a special counsel at Travis Schultz & Partners.