The Labor Party has argued Australia is trailing other nations in adopting electric vehicles. Climate Change and Energy Spokesman, Mark Butler noted that Australia's electric vehicle take-up was one-tenth of the global average, saying a Labor government would introduce the country's first national electric vehicle policy. This policy, he said, would include a target of 50 per cent of new car sales being electric by 2030, pointing out that Australia had lower electric vehicles sales than any other country in the OECD. So, does Australia have the lowest uptake of electric vehicles among the 36 members of the OECD? And would Labor's policy bring it closer to other countries in embracing clean-car technology? RMIT ABC Fact Check found Mr Butler's claim is close to the mark. As a proportion of total new car sales, thirty-two OECD member countries have higher sales rates for electric vehicles than Australia does. Australia is ahead of just Mexico, Chile and Turkey ' emerging economies that are not usually considered at the same state of development as Australia. Mr Butler would have been more accurate had he said Australia has lower electric vehicle sales than comparable developed countries. Labor's proposed target would increase the number of electric vehicles on Australian roads, but would be unlikely to put it ahead of most other OECD nations, several of which have more ambitious targets.
Verdict: Close to the mark