The Climate Council has taken a look under the hood of electric vehicles to find where top-selling car makers rank in the race to zero emissions.

Race to Zero Ranking shows that some manufacturers are quickly moving towards electrifying their fleets, with major brands mapping out a pathway to sell nothing but zero-emissions vehicles by the mid-2030s or earlier.

*Climate Council’s ranking takes two factors into account: The year auto manufacturers have committed to 100 per cent new electric vehicles and their targets for Battery Electric Vehicles.

Some have committed to 100 per cent of their new vehicles being fully electric, while others rev their engines on the starting block.

Polestar and Tesla are at the finish line – exclusively manufacturing completely electric vehicles (EVs) already.

Volvo (2030), Ford (2035) and Volkswagen (2040) are leading the pack for traditional auto manufacturers, with the aim to fully electrify their fleets by 2040.

Mazda (2030), Hyundai (2040) and Kia (2040) have targets to go all-electric between 2030 and 2040. 

Honda aims to be all-electric by 2040. 

Nissan and Mitsubishi are trailing behind, only aiming to electrify 50 per cent of their fleet by 2030. 

Dead last are Toyota and Isuzu, two companies yet to commit to taking their fleets all-electric.

Cost factor

Australians want cheaper and cleaner transport options.

If money wasn’t an issue, we’d all have gone green to support the environment, ditching our gas-guzzling, high-emission vehicles. Sadly, cost is still a barrier.

The average Australian will spend about $22,000 on a new car, but the cheapest EV on the market is somewhere between $45,000 and $50,000.

Dr Jennifer Rayner, the Climate Council’s head of advocacy, told The New Daily that one way to slash costs would be for the federal government to set fuel efficiency standards to encourage manufacturers to bring cheaper, cleaner EVs to Australia.

“Many major manufacturers know that all-electric is the way to go,” Dr Rayner said.

“Implementing strong fuel efficiency standards would ensure 100 per cent of new vehicles sold [would] be zero emissions by the middle of next decade.

“There are lots of electric vehicles on the market in the UK, in Europe and America that cost significantly less than they do in Australia.”

Companies manufacturing cars driven by millions of Australians are on the precipice of a clean transport revolution, the managing director at Electric Mobility Manufacturers of Australia, Greg McGarvie, said.

He expects the cost of EVs to drop dramatically in the next few years, making them affordable for many Australians.

“In Australia, we’re just at the start of the uptake of EVs, and we know that overseas, there’s a big drop happening in prices,” he said.

“I think we’re in an iPhone moment. In the years before iPhones came out we had a big clumsy phones. Then along came the iPhone and they just went ballistic – not many people haven’t got an iPhone now.”

Mr McGarvie says that the cost of running a diesel or fossil fuel vehicle puts significant strain on household budgets. He thinks EVs could be the answer to alleviating some of that financial burden.

And if you’re worried about EVs stealing the weekend or not having enough grunt under the bonnet to go off road, Mr McGarvie says there’s nothing to fear.

“You’ll find electric vehicles climb the sand dunes quicker and easier than diesel or fossil fuel vehicles. And the fact that you don’t have to go and find a petrol station everywhere is great – where there’s electricity you can charge your vehicle.”