Shalik Ram Kharel, a mental health nurse at Liverpool Hospital in Sydney’s west, bought an electric vehicle two years ago, charging it twice a week at home.

“[The electricity company] will charge eight cents per kilowatt to charge the car – basically, it will cost around $6.50 to fully charge the car,” he said. “If I charge fully my car, that will give me around 400 kilometres’ drive.”

His previous petrol car cost about $100 a week in fuel, while his electric vehicle costs about $13 to charge.

Electric vehicles have become a flashpoint in the energy wars being fought between the federal government and the opposition.

Announcing the costings of his nuclear energy plan last week, Liberal leader Peter Dutton claimed, “If you’ve got solar panels on your house at home, and you’re charging up your car during the day, you can’t store energy into your battery”.

That statement was swiftly rejected by people doing just that, who pointed out that the average solar system in Australia is eight kilowatts – more than enough to charge a vehicle, store energy and keep lights on.

Under the government’s scheme, people would save between 1-5 per cent on EV-specific loans for new and used EVs worth up to $55,000, as well as home EV charging equipment.

“Discounted loans help remove barriers to ownership, helping more Australians drive cars that can save them thousands of dollars a year,” said Energy Minister Chris Bowen.

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