The road ahead

Many of the automakers at the Sydney event said the infrastructure and network required for the EV sector to cover Australia's large distances still need to be improved.

"Australia is geographically a large place, similar in size to China, not quite as big but just about. But of course we have a very small population base," said Smitherman of BYD distributor EVDirect.

Many motorists needing to travel long distances are now overcoming "range anxiety" by first opting for a plug-in hybrid vehicle before transitioning to a fully electric one, he said.

During a panel discussion at the Sydney show, Australia's Climate Change and Energy Minister Chris Bowen said the transportation sector remains a major challenge in the country's move toward lower carbon emissions.

"People are driving around more, flying more, that's a big reason why — as we're getting emissions down so quickly in electricity and industry — transport is going up, and that's keeping up the national average," he said.

"So we have a lot more work to do on transport. We've got our new vehicle efficiency standards … that will make a difference, but they're not yet seeing huge reductions in emissions," Bowen said.

However, he said a real impact is already being seen in the expansion of the EV sector, as evidenced by the Sydney show. "In the last three years, the range of EVs has tripled. The choice of models has tripled," he said.

Delvecchio from the EVC said while Australia has made progress in embracing electric vehicles, there is still a long road ahead.

"We are pleased that the new vehicle efficiency standard has been introduced to further improve choice and affordability — a policy we've been advocating for years.

"However, there are still a range of challenges Australia must overcome including building more charging infrastructure, harmonizing and reforming regulations, countering misinformation and introducing more purchase incentives to accelerate the transition."

Professor Hendrischke said Australia should look at the possible long-term benefits of China's EV industry as well as cooperation in other energy areas.

"What of course would be a potential consideration over the long term is when China starts to have more smaller-scale production units — high-tech, but smaller scale — there would be all kinds of good reasons to set up car manufacturers in smaller markets like Australia," he said.

While Chinese automakers are now introducing electric vehicles to the Australian market, there are other aspects of broader energy cooperation that both sides could benefit from.

"There is certainly big potential for future cooperation. But it goes beyond electric vehicles," he said.

"It goes to smart energy, to clean energy, where Australia could, with Chinese partners, build up energy cooperation or manufacturing. These are the next few steps the business community is looking at, and is interested in."

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