Businesses, councils will launch 1000 new fleet EVs in 2023 through NSW government’s $105 million grant scheme

More than 1000 new electric vehicles will fill out business and local council fleets in 2023 as a result of the New South Wales government’s $105 million EV funding scheme, with interested businesses now encouraged to apply for a fresh round of grant funding.

On Tuesday, NSW Treasurer and Energy Minister Matt Kean announced the recipients of the second round of the Drive Electric NSW EV fleets incentive, one of the main pillars of its overarching $633 million EV strategy.

Winning bidders include Splend, the Australian auto-tech startup providing rentals to rideshare drivers, which is already rolling out 500 Polestar 2 EVs for the NSW market through an earlier round of the grant.

Other winning recipients include insurance giant IAG, Origin Energy, car rental provider Sixt, and local councils from across the state.

Helping businesses upgrade their fleets to EVs will cut down on operating costs for businesses, the state government says.

Bolstering the proportion of EVs in corporate fleets will also have trickle-down effects, Kean added, as ex-fleet vehicles eventually provide a significant source of stock for the used market.

“Leveraging the bulk purchasing power of fleets can expand both the range of models and number of EVs in NSW, which means prices will fall and more vehicles will be available to private buyers via the second-hand market in coming years,” he said.

Of course, outfitting businesses with new cars isn’t the end goal, nor is providing stock for tomorrow’s used car market.

By driving EV adoption, the NSW government intends to crack down on the 22% of total greenhouse emissions caused by road users in the state, as it chases the goal of net zero emissions by 2050.

To facilitate even further EV usage, grant recipients will also receive co-funding for 1000 smart chargers, Kean says.

Around 2000 EVs have been rolled out through the program to date, the government says.

Now, businesses interested in taking part have been invited to apply for the third round of grant funding, one of several to take place until 2024.

Applicants must operate fleets of at least 10 vehicles within NSW to be eligible, and fill out a detailed checklist covering expected vehicle use, purchase price, and charging plans.

Businesses can register their interest here.