EV & Hybrid Advice

Few employee perks can trump a company car (pizza parties run a close second), but if you’ve ever thought about providing a set of wheels for your staff, you’ll have found that the Fringe Benefits Tax can give your ABN savings a serious uppercut.In an effort to keep the rest of the world from accelerating away from us towards an electric car future, however, the Australian Government introduced an electric vehicle FBT exemption in 2022.What this means is that if you decide to provide an eligible EV as part of a salary package, you can reap all the usual benefits that come with buying a car with your ABN.Normally, FBT (FBT meaning Fringe Benefits Tax) applies when an employer provides a non-cash benefit to an employee in place of, or in addition to, their salary.These perks are called encouragement rewards. No, sorry, they’re called fringe benefits, and usually materialise as things like gym memberships, free concert tickets and company cars.In the case of company cars, the tax is triggered only when the vehicle is used for personal purposes (going to Bunnings for a sausage sandwich isn’t work, unless you’re a tradie) rather than for work.How much is FBT on a car? Using the Statutory Method, FBT is charged to the employer by applying a 47 per cent tax to a grossed-up 20 per cent of the car’s value.Yes, that does sound typically ATO complex, but fortunately there’s a handy FBT Calculator that crunches the numbers for you. Usually there’s a fair bit of record keeping involved when it comes to FBT, but the electric car FBT exemption lightens the load considerably.The government wants more people driving cleaner, greener cars as it works towards its zero-carbon goals in 2500, no, sorry 2050, and an FBT exemption for electric vehicles is a clever sleight of hand to achieve that goal.In the short term, business owners save thousands of dollars while making their fleets cheaper to run (no fuel costs, if they can use solar to charge their EV fleets the savings are even bigger) and more environmentally friendly.As a bonus, because fleet vehicles are often sold after three to four years, the theory goes that the second-hand market will soon have a healthy supply of relatively new EVs – many still under warranty – at more affordable prices for everyday Aussies.Paying no FBT on electric cars is a great way to save money, but there are strings attached. First, it must be a battery-electric vehicle (BEV), a hydrogen fuel cell vehicle (FCEV) and good luck with that, or a plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV).No matter which one you go for, the car must be used by a current employee or an immediate family member. Keep in mind that the PHEV FBT exemption will end on 1 April 2025, while the BEV one will continue.Second, the car must have been first purchased and used on or after 1 July 2022. If you bought an EV before that date, the prize for early adoption is paying the standard rate of FBT.Finally, the car’s price must be under the Luxury Car Tax (LCT) threshold for fuel-efficient vehicles (currently sitting at $91,387) to qualify for the exemption. Being the golden goose that it is, the LCT clause doesn’t just apply to the initial sale – it sticks with the car for life.So, even if you manage to find a used Porsche Taycan priced under the current LCT threshold, it won’t qualify for the FBT exemption, now or ever. Luxury Car Tax exemptions do not seem to be on the table for FBT purposes.To further sweeten the deal, cars that qualify for the FBT exemption also get FBT-free running costs, including registration, insurance, maintenance, repairs, and even the electricity used for charging.However, installation costs for a home charging station aren’t exempt and would still attract FBT if covered by the employer.It’s worth noting that although your EV and charging costs are exempt from FBT, the benefit is still reportable. Calculating it is a matter of multiplying the total kilometres driven by the percentage of charging done at home, then applying the EV home charging rate of 4.20 cents per kilometre.If commercial charging is used, you should include those costs only if you can accurately determine the split between home and external charging.If you can separate the car from the artist, it’s still one of the best EVs out there – especially after a recent refresh that brought interior upgrades, a sleeker front-end design, and a quieter ride. Prices start at $54,900, before on-road costs, for the 2025 Model 3 RWD and rise to $80,900 for the full-fat Performance AWD (still well under FBT).Manufacturer: TeslaKey Specs: Up to 629km claimed WLTP range, RWD or AWDWarranty: four years/80,000 km (vehicle), eight years/160,000km (battery and drive unit)Why Consider It? Class-leading efficiency, Supercharger network, and an ultra-minimalist interior (which you’ll either love or tolerate).More Info: Tesla AustraliaHyundai’s retro-futuristic SUV is outrageously cool looking, with a thoughtful interior that’s put together with a real sense of purpose and quality. All but the $110,000 range-topping “N” variant meet the EV FBT threshold.Manufacturer: HyundaiKey Specs: Up to 570km claimed WLTP range, RWD or AWD, 800V fast-chargingWarranty: five years/unlimited kilometres (vehicle), eight years/160,000km (battery)Why Consider It? Retro-futuristic looks, roomy interior, and ultra-fast charging.Learn more: Hyundai AustraliaThe Polestar 2 carries that same left-of-centre intellectual appeal that Saab once enjoyed, with a Scandinavian design that pairs exceedingly well with turtlenecks and loafers.Manufacturer: PolestarKey Specs: Up to 655km WLTP range (long-range variant), RWD or AWDWarranty: five years/unlimited kilometres (vehicle), eight years/160,000km (battery)Why Consider It? Scandinavian design, premium materials, and concierge servicing.More Info: Polestar AustraliaThe BYD Atto 3 is an affordable EV that proves China is taking this whole electric car thing very seriously. The range kicks off at just $39,990, before on-roads, and is backed by a reassuring six-year/150,000km vehicle warranty.Manufacturer: BYDKey Specs: Up to 420km claimed WLTP range, FWD, 'Blade' battery technologyWarranty: Six years/150,000km (vehicle), eight years/160,000km (battery)Why Consider It? Competitive pricing, decent range, and a cool interior.More Info: BYD AustraliaThe best place to learn more about the exemption and any upcoming changes is the ATO website. There you’ll find answers to questions surrounding what cars are exempt from FBT, how does FBT work, and how much is FBT on a car.

Electric cars are all the rage these days with exciting new models from Audi all the way to Volvo, offering a zero emissions future.

Can you hear what’s coming over the horizon? Probably not, because it’s a swathe of near-silent Electric Vehicles (EVs), set to supersede the bog-standard gas-guzzling Internal Combustion Engine (ICE) car within the next decade or two. 

The top five electric SUVs updated for 2022

If you think electric vehicles might be just a fad, like a Rubik’s Cube or a Livestrong bracelet, or even those Oakley stickers everyone had on their windscreens that said “Thermonuclear Protection”, we have news for you: EVs aren’t going anywhere. They’re going everywhere.

A traditional sports car is a lot like the barfly at your local pub - it consumes a hell of a lot more, and is a lot louder than pretty much anything within a one kilometre radius. 

Haven’t heard of Polestar electric vehicles? Well, there was a time when you hadn’t heard of Tesla, either, but in recent years, Polestar has leaped up the sales charts, which once would've been a difficult task for a newcomer brand in AustraliaRegardless, If your Polestar knowledge is hazier than the Tesla Cybertruck’s release date, here’s all the important things you need to know about the EV brand that hopes to shake up the world, and annoy Elon Musk.This is a case of big (Chinese) fish eats little (Swedish) fish. Flash/Polestar Racing was established in 1996 and was a partner to Volvo, with the Swedish car manufacturer fully acquiring the off-shoot in 2015. Chinese multinational automotive giant Geely bought Volvo in 2010, technically making the Polestar brand Swedish-Chinese (which sounds like a very interesting cuisine). Although headquartered in Torslanda outside Gothenburg, in Sweden, Polestar has its Polestar 2 made in Luqiao, China, at the same factory that builds the Volvo XC40 Recharge EV. The new Polestar 3 SUV, however, will be manufactured in both China and the US, while the Polestar 4 will be built in China and South Korea. If you’re keen to get behind the wheel of a Polestar, Polestar Australia has been selling the popular Polestar 2 hatchback EV since early 2022 (surely you’ve seen them on the road, as many early examples are favoured by rideshare drivers).After a Polestar SUV? Australia will get those in 2024 when the Polestar 3 large SUV lands, and if you want to drive something really different, the Polestar 4 mixes it up with its mid-size crossover coupe styling and complete lack of a rear window.In the next few years the range will also be fleshed out with a Polestar 5 Grand Tourer, and the Polestar 6 convertible.Wondering what happened to the Polestar 1? Australia never saw it, with the plug-in hybrid coupe discontinued from production in 2021. If you’re keen to be the owner of a shiny new Polestar but worried about where to plug it in, charging stations in Australia are now beginning to increase, with various government funding going toward bridging the gap and making it easier for EV drivers to charge their vehicles. Price: $67,400 (Standard Range RWD), $71,400 (Long Range RWD), $76,400 (Long Range dual motor); all plus on-road costs There are two single-motor rear-drive variants of the Polestar 2: the Standard Range (estimated driving range of 532km) and the Long Range (estimated driving range of 654km), with each variant coming with outputs of 200kW/490Nm and the ability to go from zero to 100km/h in 6.4 seconds. There’s also a dual-motor Long Range variant (estimated driving range of 591km) with outputs of 310kW/740Nm and a zero to 100km/h dash of 4.2 seconds. The Standard Range battery pack is 69kWh, while the Long Range is 82kWh. Price: From $132,900Sharing its SPA2 platform with the incoming Volvo EX90, the Polestar 3 large SUV has a dual-motor powertrain and maximum outputs of 380kW and 910Nm, with the estimated driving range provided by the 111kW battery pack at 610km.Local pricing comes in at $132,900 for the single Long Range Dual Motor variant, although the Performance Pack (which unlocks the aforementioned power outputs for a 4.7 second 0-100km/h sprint time) costs a further $9000, while the Plus Pack, which is also a $9000 option adds more luxurious touches like premium audio, noise cancelling, and soft-close doors among other things.From $81,500The Polestar 4 will land in Australia before the end of 2024 offering a different spin on the luxury mid-size SUV formula. Competing both in terms of price and intention to something like Porsche's electric Macan, the Polestar 4 looks more like an up-sized Polestar 2, having a more sedan-like silhouette than your average mid-size SUV.Local pricing starts from $81,500 for the entry-level Single Motor variant which channels 200kW/343Nm to the rear wheels and provides 610km of driving range, while the Dual Motor starts from $92,150 and doubles outputs to 400kW while offering 580km of driving range.Test drives for the Polestar 2 are currently available in Melbourne, Brisbane, Hobart, Perth and two locations in Sydney. That’s not the only way to get yourself behind the wheel of a Polestar 2: Hertz has purchased a whopping 65,000 Polestars 2s to add to its fleet of rental cars, giving Aussies the chance to test one out before shelling out their hard-earned. Uber has also made at least 500 Polestars 2s part of its fleet thanks to vehicle subscription company Splend. An electric tier was launched by Uber in 2023, which gives Uber customers the ability to choose to travel in a Polestar 2 or Tesla Model 3 or another fully electric car. It was also joined by a 'green' tier which allows riders to exclusively be picked up in hybrids.Polestar offer a traditional fixed rate loan to customers, as well as a loan with a ‘Guaranteed Future Value agreement’, which is similar to a regular loan with a balloon payment at the end of the term. The difference is that Polestar guarantees the minimum return value of the vehicle to ensure it covers the balloon repayment.Two more models have already been announced by Polestar: The Polestar 5 four-door sedan (outputs: 650kW/900Nm) is pitched as a grand tourer and rides on the same SEA platform as the Polestar 4 and other vehicles under the Geely umbrella, like the Lotus Eletre and Zeekr 001. Its current plan for release seems to have been pushed back to 2027.The Polestar 6, an electric sports car concept, has also been unveiled, with an originally proposed release date of 2026. The dual motor, two-door convertible’s target specifications are a top speed of 250km/h, acceleration from zero to 100km/h in 3.2 seconds, a 600km-plus driving range and a power target of 650kW. That definitely sounds like something you won’t want to miss.

People who enjoy the taste and sensation of dust in their teeth no doubt get a lot of joy out of tearing over wild terrain in their ATV or UTV, but nothing quite beats the combination of convenience, capability and toughness that you get from a full-sized off-road 4x4. So far, however, if you want a vehicle like this but are determined to save the planet at the same time by choosing an electric powertrain, your options are somewhat limited, at least in Australia. But that will change.There are certain four-wheel-drive (4WD) snobs who’d liken driving an electric 4WD to piloting a battery-operated, remote-controlled Traxxas car, but the prejudice is uncalled for: Electric Vehicles (EVs) have the grunt and torque to match any internal-combustion-engine (ICE) vehicle, and the technology in them is only getting better. All-Wheel-Drive (AWD) is similar to 4WD in that power can be used for both the front and rear wheels for maximum traction, but 4WD is the only one of the two options that has serious off-road capabilities - in this article, we’ll be focusing solely on the latter. Currently if you want an electric 4WD in Australia, your options are quite limited. First, it’s important to know that currently there are two main contenders when it comes to the 4WD electric car: conversions, which are petrol or diesel vehicles that have been modified to EVs thanks to a conversion kit, and ground-up electric 4WD vehicles that are designed as EVs from the get-go. At the moment conversions are only available for commercial use on large private grounds, and not the consumer market. Ground-up 4WD EVs are only for sale from specialist start-ups rather than established car manufacturers at this stage, but this will likely change in the not-too-distant future. With the popularity of EVs set to increase drastically over the coming years, it will only be a matter of time before mainstream car brands are mass-producing electric 4WD vehicles. And indeed, one of the most famous in this field, Hummer, is not far off doing so.Until that time comes, here’s what’s available, globally, and what’s eventually coming to a showroom near you. GMC are throwing down the gauntlet and giving petrol and diesel-powered V8 4x4s a serious run for their money with a Hummer EV pick-up truck with a driving range of more than 560km from a 200kWh battery and an engine that delivers a whopping 2033Nm of torque. Read that again - two Newton kilometres of torque - it should be able to tow any reasonably sized planet. Excellently, the Hummer EV has a ‘crab mode’ that allows it to drive diagonally, and an off-road 'extract mode' can raise the air suspension approximately 15cm, giving the armoured undercarriage extra clearance. It went on sale in the US in 2022 and is currently offered in both pick up and SUV forms - but currently no plans have been announced to release either model in Australia. ​Yep, we know the BYD ute will launch before the end of 2024 with a plug-in hybrid drivetrain the brand dubs DM-i (for dual-motor intelligence), sporting electric motors on both axles supported by a 1.5-litre turbocharged engine. A similar system employed in BYD’s Fang Cheng Bao 5 SUV delivers a whopping 500kW/750Nm.However, this will just be the beginning for the BYD ute, with a fully electric version said to be roughly 12 months behind the plug-in. It has yet to be seen, even overseas, but if it can deliver on the same value and performance which other BYD models have been able to, expect it to be a hit.Toyota might be slow to the EV game, but expect it to make a statement when it finally arrives. While it may be a while off before we see a fully electric equivalent to the best-selling diesel HiLux, the EPU concept is perhaps a first look at what we can expect.To be clear, the EPU is about half a size down from the HiLux, measuring 5070mm long, and rather than a ladder chassis, it will ride on a battery electric platform more akin to a standard car platform. A production version isn’t expected until 2026, and it is unclear whether the EPU will be only for left-hand drive markets, where smaller pick-ups like the Hyundai Santa Cruz and Ford Maverick sell in higher volumes.It may look like something out of a science fiction film, but the Tesla Cybertruck has serious power and off-road capability: 547km range, 4990kg towing capacity, a tray of nearly two metres and over 400mm ground clearance. It may or may not make it to Australian shores, but expect it to turn some serious heads if it ever does arrive.We were one of the first Aussie outlets to get a chance to review it overseas, check our story out here.US American electric car start-up Rivian has stepped up to the plate to take on Tesla with two off-road EVs with 4WD capability: the R1T ute and the R1S wagon. Both Ford and Amazon have invested hundreds of millions of dollars in the company, which eventually has plans to sell the R1T and the R1S in Australia. The most notable thing is that the R1T will feature Individual Wheel Drive (IWD), essentially assigning a motor to each wheel, which could make it the most capable off-roader to ever hit the market. Canoo is a US-based start up which specialises in light commercial-style vehicles, and plans to launch a ‘lifestyle vehicle’, delivery van, and of course a pick-up truck.While Canoo has been beset with production delays and issues since its inception in 2017 its range of funky but rugged looking vehicles lean fully into the idea of building a van or a ute around a skateboard chassis underneath, making for a particularly cool design formula, which is also very modular.The brand is taking pre-orders in the US at the moment, promising the choice of AWD or RWD, over 370kW of power, at least 320km of driving range and is targeting over 800kg of payload. Time will tell if it can escape its troubled start-up phase, but the brand is already looking to produce right-hand drive versions of its vehicles for use by the USPS.If Bob Dylan going electric back in the ’60s caused controversy, wait till you see what happens now that Ford has created an all-electric version of its iconic F-150 model. Although unlikely to make it to Australia, at least for the time being, the F-150 Lightning arrived in the US in 2022 with two battery options, Standard and Extended Range, with the latter offering 483km of range and the former 370km.In a glimmer of hope for those who would accept nothing else as an electric truck, the F150 Lightning has been spotted in Australia having been converted to right-hand drive by a third-party outfit AusEV.The Silverado EV is an entirely new proposition when compared to the combustion version currently converted to right-hand drive here in Australia.Instead it sits on GM’s new Ultium EV platform which underpins other new fully electric vehicles in its range. Big batteries are matched by long driving ranges (644km+) and powerful electric motors, which combined can produce up to 495kW/1058Nm. It also sports a payload of 505kg and can tow over 3500kg.Unfortunately it seems, despite a renewed push back into Australia with its Cadillac premium arm, General Motors is as yet uninterested in bringing the Silverado EV to Australia as a factory-backed option.With laws making the sale of ICE vehicles illegal in the near-future in some countries as well as Australia’s government finally making moves on emissions, expect everyone from Mitsubishi to Land Rover to have electric 4x4s on the market in the coming years.

Love it or hate it, you can’t deny that Tesla has changed the car industry, and indeed the world.

Just a decade ago, if you were after the best full electric car in Australia, you wouldn’t find yourself with a whole lot of options to choose from.