Polestar weighs in on EV road-user debate

PROPOSALS for a road user charge for electric vehicles should trigger a total reset of all taxes paid by Australian motorists, from fuel levies to tolls, says the head of Polestar in Australia.

Scott Maynard, in an exclusive interview with GoAuto, said a road-user charge “is inevitable” but “should not be just nailed onto the charges motorists already pay”.

“Let’s use this as a circuit breaker for the entire transport industry tax structure to have a reset and look at all the costs paid by Australian motorists,” he said.

“If you decide today to buy a car, you’ll have to pay stamp duty; a package of costs that go into registration; fuel excise; luxury car tax; fringe benefits tax; and tolls which are themselves a road-user charge.

“In tolls alone, the NSW government last year made $2 billion from tolls.

“So, we need to rethink all the costs, and the RUC could be the leveller that allows that to happen.”

Mr Maynard was concerned that an RUC was being seen as a cost to be borne by EV owners, which he said would not be the case.

He said this impression was also affecting the decisions of people looking at buying an EV, saying that “while the RUC debate rages, it forces consumers looking to buy an EV rethink the idea because of an unknown tax looming and the indication that this tax will be levied solely on them. That would be grossly unfair”.

“The demise in revenue from fuel excise – which was $17.7 billion in revenue for the federal government in 2024 – cannot be placed squarely on the EV buyers,” he added.

“It needs to be considered that petrol vehicles are using considerably less fuel than they were three, five years ago or 10 years ago.

“We aren’t asking them (owners of petrol vehicles) to top up the excise.

“So, it seems logical that the RUC would replace some of these motoring costs and be spread across all users of the road, not just EV drivers.”

Mr Maynard said New Zealand has an RUC but “it is not something I support because it is based on mileage accumulation”.

“That would affect 60 per cent of EV buyers and potential buyers who live in the edges of Australia’s metropolitan areas or those in rural areas,” Mr Maynard told GoAuto.

“These are people who have to travel longer distances to get to work or seek medical care.

“It would be unfair to make the RUC based on distance when communities like that are forced to travel long distances.”

The road-user charge (RUC) is seen as the answer to the federal government’s treasury maintaining revenue as motorists move to EVs (which don’t currently pay any road tax) from internal-combustion engine vehicles (ICE) that pay a road tax via fuel excises paid at the petrol, diesel and LPG fuel bowser.

Mr Maynard admits he has yet to see an ideal model for an RUC that includes all road users.

“I acknowledge that it is extremely complex and a lot of governments internationally struggle with a way of replacing fuel excise with a road-user charge that is equitable,” he stated.

“I don’t have the perfect answer however, I would be hoping that common sense would lead to the vehicles that impact road maintenance being the most to take the brunt of an RUC over vehicles such as EVs.

“This would also ensure the continued pickup of EVs over vehicles with a higher pollution level, which has a knock-on effect to health and air quality.

“On top of that, we know that EVs are cheaper to own, cheaper to run, and in some cases, as cheap to buy.

“It would make sense for it to be apportioned that way, but I haven’t identified a model here or overseas that is perfectly suited to that.

“If we find that solution, it would be a great opportunity for Australia to show the way for the rest of the world.”