The federal government says it will not force Australians out of the car they want to drive, but the choice may have already been taken away from them.
Car manufacturers are racing to go electric ahead of bans on new fossil-fuel vehicles in several countries, including the United Kingdom.
It means that, the next time Australians go to buy a new car, the one they want may only be available as an electric model.
The high manufacturing cost of electric cars and their batteries has seen luxury brands take the lead.
However, companies that sell mainstream models are also investing heavily in the industrial transition needed for the coming decades.
Here’s a list of car brands that are making the permanent switch to electric.
Jaguar
British luxury car brand Jaguar announced in February that it would go all-electric from 2025.
Its maker, Jaguar Land Rover, which also sells the Land Rover, has pledged to become a net zero carbon business by 2039.
The first all-electric Land Rover model is due to be released in 2024, with an intention to eventually phase out internal combustion engines in that brand as well.
Audi
From 2026, all new models released by German car maker Audi will be battery-powered.
Its petrol, diesel and hybrid cars released before 2026 will continue to be built and sold until the early 2030s.
The company, which is owned by Volkswagen Group, will phase out its development of the internal combustion engine by 2033.
Alfa Romeo
Italian car maker Alfa Romeo has announced it will only sell battery-powered cars in Europe, North America and China from 2027.
It has not said whether Australia will be part of its expansion into the all-electric market.
Alfa Romeo is owned by Stellantis, the world’s fourth-largest car maker, which includes brands such as Jeep, Fiat, Peugeot and Chrysler.
Stellantis is investing 30 billion euros ($47 billion) in electric vehicles through to 2025.
Rolls-Royce
Luxury car maker Rolls-Royce announced in September that it would only produce electric cars by 2030.
The BMW-owned brand is due to release its first fully electric car, named ‘Spectre’, in late 2023.
“By [2030], Rolls-Royce will no longer be in the business of producing or selling any internal combustion engine products,” chief executive Torsten Muller-Otvos said.
Mini
Mini, another brand owned by BMW, said in March that it would only produce battery electric vehicles by the end of the decade.
Its last internal combustion engine model will be released in 2025.
Volvo
Swedish car maker Volvo has committed to making only fully electric cars by 2030.
By 2025, it is aiming for about 50 per cent of the cars it sells globally to be battery-powered, and the other 50 per cent to be hybrids.
“I am totally convinced there will be no customers who really want to stay with a petrol engine,” Volvo chief executive Håkan Samuelsson said in March.
Bentley
Bentley, which is owned by Volkswagen Group, announced last year it would be fully electric by 2030.
The luxury brand says it will launch its first battery electric vehicle in 2025
Two of its three models are already available as hybrids, with the third due in 2023.
It will phase out internal combustion engines by 2026, with only plug-in hybrids and electric cars on the market.
Mercedes-Benz
Mercedes-Benz, which is owned by Daimler, is working towards going all-electric by the end of the decade.
The company has increased its target for battery electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids to make up 50 per cent of its sales globally by 2025.
Fiat
Fiat, another Italian car maker owned by Stellantis, is working to become exclusively electric by the end of the decade.
Chief executive Olivier François said in June that the brand’s line-up would gradually become electric-only between 2025 and 2030.
Ford
American car maker Ford has said its passenger cars in Europe will be all-electric by 2030.
The company expects 40 to 50 per cent of its global sales to be battery electric vehicles by that same year.
Ford Motor and Korean battery partner SK Innovation announced in September that they would build an electric assembly plant and three battery plants in the US to open in 2025.
The $US11.6 billion ($15.7 billion) plan is the single-largest manufacturing investment in Ford’s 118-year history.
Renault
French car maker Renault has said 90 per cent of its cars will be battery electric vehicles by 2030.
However, it is reportedly pushing back against the European Commission proposal to ban the sale of hybrid vehicles in 2035.
The ban would significantly impact Renault’s budget brand, Dacia, which is currently not sold in Australia.
Nissan
Japanese car maker Nissan has said all its new cars will be electrified in the key markets of Japan, China, the US and Europe by the early 2030s.
The company, which is part of the Renault Nissan Mitsubishi alliance, has also set 2050 as its goal to go carbon neutral.
Volkswagen (VW)
German car maker VW, will only sell battery electric cars in Europe by 2035.
It expects to stop selling internal combustion engines in the United States and China a little bit after that.
VW is aiming to make its entire fleet carbon neutral by 2050 at the latest.
Owned by Volkswagen Group, VW rivals Toyota as the world’s biggest car maker.
General Motors
General Motors, which owns Chevrolet, Buick, GMC and Cadillac, will only sell zero-emission cars by 2035.
The American company, which rivals Ford, also plans to be carbon neutral by 2040.
GM is spending US$35 billion ($47 billion) on electric and self-driving vehicles through to 2025.
Honda
Japanese car maker Honda is aiming to go all electric in North America, China and Japan by 2040.
The company plans to reach its goal by developing both battery-powered and fuel cell vehicles.
It has said it expects both electric and hydrogen cars to account for 40 per cent of sales by 2030, and 80 per cent by 2035.
Hyundai
Hyundai is aiming to go fully electric by 2040.
The South Korean car maker has said it will gradually expand its battery electric car line-up in the United States, Europe and China.
Hyundai’s plan to go electric focuses heavily on hydrogen cars, also known as fuel cell electric vehicles.
The Hyundai Group, which also owns Kia, has said it will become the first car maker to apply fuel cell systems to all commercial vehicle models by 2028.
It has said it will also make fuel cell vehicles comparable to battery electric vehicles in cost by 2030.
What about Toyota?
Toyota has been the top-selling car brand in Australia for 18 years and rivals Volkswagen Group as the biggest car maker in the world.
According to RACV, 22.3 per cent of all vehicles sold in Australia last year had a Toyota badge.
The Japanese car maker says it is committed to making its range zero emissions by 2050.
Toyota’s plan relies heavily on developing hydrogen cars rather than battery electric vehicles.
Extracted from ABC