Business View Oceania | Volume 4, Issue 2

13 14 BUSINESS VIEW OCEANIA VOLUME 4, ISSUE 2 BUSINESS VIEW OCEANIA VOLUME 4, ISSUE 2 vehicle society in the world, and our mission has always been to electrify mobility. Our industry is about more than just personal transport or electric cars. It’s about moving people short and long distances, providing them access to services, and connecting global networks via aeroplanes, boats, scooters… Everything that can be moved, can be moved with electricity. Our mission is to do whatever necessary to facilitate the rapid transition of Australia’s mobility network into fully electrified operation.” The association has been involved in a number of key industry evolutions and events, including their leading role in the establishment of national EV modification regulations. AEVA is a federation of state and territory- specific branches that are supervised by a national head, which takes point to comment on major issues such as emissions standards development, taxation arrangements, and industry-wide technological innovation. Branches are based in: Canberra (ACT), Sydney (NSW), Alice Springs and Darwin (NT), Brisbane (QLD), Adelaide (SA), Hobart (TAS), Melbourne and Geelong (VIC), and Perth (WA). Meetings are held regularly by state and territory branches to connect and inform members; however, non- members are always welcome and encouraged to attend. This model is effective in supporting the EV community, but does not come without challenges, Mr. Jones shares. “We are essentially a bunch of enthusiasts working to manage the Australian end of a global megatrend. Most of the real action and collaboration happens in our state and territory offices, and when you think of the scale that our network of relatively small branch teams works on, it’s easy to see where difficulties arise. The immensity of this global shift is amazing and definitely needs to happen in order for our global society to evolve and thrive, but it is sometimes easy to forget that we are volunteers out here working to field media inquiries, inform our members, make submissions to government, etc, all while working day jobs.” AEVA communicates with members via their website membership portal, social media, educational YouTube channel, EV newsletter, and in person events, conferences, trade shows, and exhibitions. The association would traditionally host its AEVA Conference and EV Expo multi- day event annually at varying locations around the country, but has been unable to do so for the past two years as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. The next annual AEVA Conference and EV Expo is set to run in April of this year, in Canberra. AEVA expects a huge turnout thanks to high-level sponsorships, keynote speakers, and an increased interest in EVs within the general Australian population. In collaboration with its members, AEVA has taken a pledge to retire all internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles under the association’s control by 2030. The organisation encourages members and non-members alike to sign the pledge, taking a proactive stance in their role in order to bring Australia up to benchmark standards set by world leaders in transport system electrification, such as Denmark, Slovenia, Sweden, and the United Kingdom. The 2030 EV Vision Pledge is one of a number of steps AEVA has taken to support Australia’s sustainable future, but EVs aren’t a singular answer, Mr. Jones says. “There is a misconception, I think, that many people think they can absolve all of their environmental responsibilities by driving an EV, but these vehicles still take resources from the ground, and they still require energy to run. They aren’t the end solution many make them out to be, but they are certainly better than the alternative, and their uptake is something that will hopefully be accessible to and used by everybody in the next decade or so.” In addition to member collaboration, AEVA works with a number of industry partners towards the common goal of switching Australia’s mobility systems to an electrified model. These partners include Sustainable Energy Now (Western AUSTRAL I AN ELECTR I C VEHI CLE ASSOC I AT ION (AEVA)