The Australian Government should invest in a $5 billion program over 10 years to upgrade key freight roads, including so they can be used by electric and other heavier trucks, the ATA’s submission to the House of Representatives Standing Committee on Climate Change, Energy, Environment and Water’s inquiry into the transition to electric vehicles says.

This submission reviews the use case for electric trucks before examining the regulatory barriers to their supply and purchase and the need to upgrade key freight roads.

It proposes measures to support businesses to upgrade their truck fleets and looks at how to support charging infrastructure.

The submission considers the impact of vehicle electrification on fuel tax revenue. It is not the right time to charge electric cars and trucks for their use of the road system. But the Government does need to make decisions about its existing road charging reforms so they can fairly accommodate electric trucks in the future.