Driving into the Future

Experts from around the world, including New Zealand representatives Kathryn Trounson and Walter Larason, gather for Australia’s biggest EV event on Friday, November 27.

The Australian Electric Vehicle Association (AEVA) 2020 EV Vision e-Conference will focus on shifting up gears in Australia’s transition to EVs and the dramatic phase out of fuel-dependent cars in the international market.

“The transport industry is undergoing a radical transformation, with the next few years set to bring more change both internationally, and importantly, here in Australia,” AEVA president Chris Nash says.

“We are seeing a huge surge in automakers preparing to phase out cars powered solely by internal combustion engines, as governments look to put the brakes on fuel emissions, and the growth of EVs and hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs) continue to climb.”

The ‘Driving into the Future’ online conference will be accessible to thousands, with 45 speakers Zooming in from around the world and Australia.

They include Fully Charged Show founder and president Robert Llewellyn and Norwegian EV Association secretary general Christina Bu.

Better NZ Trust chair Trounson and Larason of EVs Enhanced feature in several sessions.

Trounson is on two panels at the event – including the plenary session with Bu and Llewellyn – while Larason is on a panel discussion and has a video about EVs Enhanced’s work.

Trounson has also been interviewed by several Australian radio channels wanting EV comparisons with New Zealand.

“At the moment we have exactly the same number of EVs – 23,000 give or take – but they have five times the population,” she says.

Electric Vehicle Council chief executive and conference keynote speaker Behyad Jafari says it will be a valuable event for the transport industry.

“This is a great opportunity for Australia to harness the collective knowledge of industry experts from around the world and really gather intelligence on how to move Australia’s transport industry forward.”

Victorian energy, environment and climate change minister Lily D’Ambrosio will open the conference and is expected to make some announcements about Victoria’s EV future.

That state has just indicated it intends introducing an EV road user charge (RUC) in July next year, following on from South Australia’s similar announcement and a proposal from New South Wales.

Contact Chris Nash at president@aeva.asn.au and Chris Jones at secretary@aeva.asn.au for more conference information.