Electric vehicles now more affordable for Aussie essential workers

CommBank is offering essential workers and those earning less than $100,000 p.a. one of the best car loan rates in the market¹ for the purchase of electric and hybrid vehicles, for loan amounts up to $55,000.* Prices on EVs have reduced² but the cost of living has increased³, limiting the ability for everyday Australians to reap the financial and environmental benefits of switching to an electric or hybrid vehicle.

Research from the Australian Automotive Dealer Association (AADA) earlier this year showed the current cost of living is the biggest barrier to Australian households switching to EVs, with 37 per cent open to purchasing an EV but 67 per cent expecting to keep their current car for longer than expected due to the current cost of living pressures.⁴

CommBank has worked with the Clean Energy Finance Corporation (CEFC) to help reduce this barrier and make it easier for customers to transition to an EV via the Buy and Own a Car Service.* The CEFC finance will support EVs valued up to $55,000.

CommBank’s new discounted loan for EVs and hybrids is available to:

• Essential workers, including the likes of nurses, teachers and first responders, and
• People earning less than $100,000 a year.**

All essential workers, regardless of income, are eligible. So too are all Australian residents earning less than $100,000 per year, regardless of their job type.

Those customers are now eligible to apply for a loan of up to $55,000 through the CommBank EV Access Program and could save 0.70 per cent off CommBank’s already discounted secured personal loan for electric and hybrid vehicles. This discount is in addition to special EV Access Program offers on electric vehicles available via the CommBank App, which combined could mean a customer saves up to $25,000 over the life of a 7-year loan on a new 2024 Polestar 2. In addition, EV owners could save over $1,000 per annum by charging vs paying for fuel, when travelling 11,000km per annum⁵.

CommBank General Manager Personal Lending Joel Larsen said CommBank is bringing new solutions to market that can help customers switch to electric vehicles and lower the cost barriers to doing so.

“Where public transport isn’t an option, EVs provide a great lower emissions option for essential workers to get to their shifts, sometimes at odd hours, or to ferry kids to school and activities.

“Many Australians are open to buying an electric vehicle⁶ but are put off by the upfront cost. Our new EV Access Program is designed to provide customers with special offers on vehicles and a discounted interest rate for the life of the loan. With new cheaper models coming onto the market and a growing second-hand market, it’s a good time to consider an EV.

“To help customers get a good deal on an EV, CommBank has worked with some car manufacturers to develop a set of special offers which are available through the newly launched Buy and Own a Car service, accessible via the CommBank app,” Mr Larsen said.

CEFC Executive Director and Head of Debt Markets, Richard Lovell said: “Essential workers in cities like Melbourne and Sydney are more likely to commute by car and less likely to use public transport, compared to the general workforce, partly because of shift work that requires them to travel outside peak public transport schedules⁷. Helping them purchase an EV improves transport accessibility for these workers and may reduce their carbon footprint.

“Increasing access to EVs and smart charging infrastructure is a critical investment in helping decarbonise the transport sector. Transport is the third largest source of greenhouse gas emissions in Australia, at 21 per cent and is on track to be our largest emitting sector by 2030, pointing to the critical need to ramp up the uptake of more efficient forms of power generation and transportation⁸. Encouraging consumer demand and awareness for EVs through targeted discount financing can also help develop the EV second-hand market, which can further increase the affordability and accessibility of EVs.”

This is the latest CommBank initiative to help customers reduce their energy and transport costs, and their environmental footprint. Earlier this month, CommBank announced it had teamed up with Wattle Powr to offer a discount on the Tesla Powerwall 3, Tesla’s latest home battery storage system.

To find out more about this offer, visit: commbank.com.au/personal-loans/evaccessprogram

Footnotes

¹ Car Loan Rates as of November 2024: https://www.canstar.com.au/car-loans/compare/green-car-loan/

² Cox Automotive – Sept 2024: EV Market Monitor

³ ABS – Sep 2024: Selected Living Cost Indexes, Australia, September 2024 | Australian Bureau of Statistics

⁴ AADA – Feb 2024: Wave 2 Research Report

⁵ Assumes 11,100km travelled per annum, $1.94 per litre of unleaded petrol and $0.27 per KWh or electricity.

⁶ AADA – Feb 2024: Wave 2 Research Report

⁷ Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute, Housing key workers: scoping challenges, aspirations and policy responses for Australian cities, May 2021, p62.

⁸ Department of Climate Change, Energy the Environment and Water, Australia’s emissions projections 2023, November 2023, p20 and p52.

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