Electric vehicle fleets incentive FAQs

Individual fleets must currently operate at least 10 vehicles to bid for the incentive. 

Customers that receive funding via successful aggregators do not need to have a minimum number of vehicles in their fleets.

There is no maximum size for individual fleets or the customers of aggregators.

Each eligible organisation will be required to provide their own Australian Business Number (ABN). The bidding platform will accept only one bid per registered ABN, per bidding stream.

This means that if an organisation has multiple sites, but only one ABN, it will need to collate all the vehicles requested across the various sites in one bid. 

Please see question 10 (Can I bid in both streams?) regarding placing a bid in both the individual fleet and aggregator streams.

Yes, you can participate in as many rounds as you wish. There are currently no limitations to how many rounds you can participate in.

Occasional trips in other states are acceptable as long as the incentivised vehicles are registered, based, and used predominantly in NSW. 

The incentive is aimed at supporting businesses to transition their fleets to BEVs/FCEVs, and is therefore only targeting vehicles that exclusively or primarily support business operations.

However, it is understood that some fleet vehicles are also used for secondary personal reasons, especially if home garaged, for example, commuting to and from work. 

No, NSW Government fleet vehicles are not eligible under the incentive. The electrification of NSW State Government fleet vehicles is being managed through a separate initiative.  More details on the NSW Government fleet electrification strategy is available here.

No. The aggregator stream is only available to organisations that offer leasing arrangements to their customers. Aggregators must demonstrate their past leasing experience at registration. 

Car subscription and car share companies are eligible under the individual fleet stream, and should select the individual fleet stream when registering if they wish to participate in the individual fleet stream. 

If an aggregator converts less than 75% of the guaranteed number of vehicles declared, the Office may decide at their discretion to exclude the aggregator from future rounds.  

No. Vehicle models cannot be changed or swapped out for another model once a second and final bid has been placed. If at the time of submitting a purchase order, there are significant supply chain issues that would prevent a confirmed model from being secured, the participant must provide a written statement countersigned by an Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM)  for review by the Office of Energy and Climate Change (the Office) to justify why an alternative vehicle model(s) is required. The proposed model must be equal in TCO value or higher and must not impact the $/CO₂e in the original bid.

No, there is no minimum or maximum number of BEVs/FCEVs that must be bid for. You are required to maintain a minimum of 10 vehicles within your current fleet, for eligibility purposes.

If you provide fleet leasing services to customers, and also operate a fleet of at least 10 vehicles for your business purposes, you can bid under both streams.

The individual fleet stream gives applicants the opportunity to add BEVs/FCEVs to their organisation’s fleet, while the aggregator stream allows applicants to procure BEVs/FCEVs to lease to their customers. 

The incentive has been designed to encourage passenger and light commercial BEV/FCEV uptake, due to greater model availability, and compatibility with public charging infrastructure currently available.

Heavy vehicle electrification is being considered for the development of future NSW Government policies. 

The focus of the incentive is on available passenger and light commercial vehicles (LCVs) to help improve the EV market and spur second-hand demand. Medium and heavy vehicles may be considered in future rounds, pending model availability, review of previous rounds and policy decisions.

LCVs are now defined within the incentive as having a gross vehicle mass of up to 4.5 tonnes, instead of 3.5 tonnes. This change has been made to reflect fleets’ operational requirements.

Price caps are introduced to limit the use of the incentive to buy luxury vehicles. It also encourages original equipment manufacturers to prioritise bringing more affordable BEVs/FCEVs to NSW and Australia, helping to increase market options.

The Recommended Retail Price (RRP) price cap on passenger vehicles and SUVs is $100,000 (including GST). 

However, exemptions can be granted to the RRP price cap if the vehicle is required for a fleet’s business operation, and there is no alternate model that is fit-for-purpose.

Exemptions will be reviewed by the Office, and will require justification and evidence as to why an exemption is required.

Most LCV products fulfill the special purpose or fit-for-function criteria, and LCV products do not typically include prestige or luxury options. Encouraging new LCV models into NSW is a priority.

As such, there is no price cap on LCV models.

Yes, fleet managers can bid for any models and variants, so long as they fall within the price cap.

The NSW Government has set an ambitious target to deliver a 70% cut in emissions by 2035. Although both HEVs and PHEVs incorporate electric motors, they still produce tailpipe emissions, whereas BEVs/FCEVs do not. 

Yes. This is because most FCEVs produce no emissions, instead powering the motor using oxygen and compressed hydrogen. 

Hydrogen is an emerging renewable fuel; the establishment of the NSW Hydrogen Strategy is set to attract more than $80 billion of investment and create a green hydrogen refuelling station network across the state. 

No. The incentive will cover some of the cost of purchasing smart charging equipment (up to $400 per vehicle for successful bidders), but not installation.

Yes. Every smart charging point that a charging station offers is eligible for a fixed incentive amount. For example, smart charging equipment that features dual charging ports, can claim up to two fixed incentive amounts. However, each smart charging point must be matched to an incentivised BEV to claim the fixed incentive amount. 

A subscription-based model allowing fleet operators to pay a regular fee in exchange for access to EV charging equipment, located at the incentivised BEV(s) garaging location, and owned/managed by an unrelated third party. Upfront charger installation costs or external network connection costs may be additional. The service can deliver turnkey EV charging stations, including management software, 24/7 driver support and professional field maintenance. CaaS solutions may be termed under rental of charger offerings. Only smart chargers from the EV Council approved charger list can be used for CaaS solutions. The CaaS arrangements do not include a fuel or charge card to access a public charging network.

If opting for the base charging subsidy, fleet managers should select the chargers from the Electric Vehicle Council approved hardware list here, unless procuring a DC charger. 

Each smart charging point, allocated in a given CaaS arrangement must be matched to an incentivised BEV to claim the fixed incentive amount.

Yes, usage reports for smart chargers under CaaS arrangements that are associated with an incentivised BEV, must be provided.

The agreed charging services must have a market value exceeding $400 for each incentivised BEV. Also, the fees for charging services and any other costs associated with the charging services for each matched incentivised BEV must exceed $400. The services can only apply to chargers located at the incentivised BEV(s) main garaging location. Please refer to the full information described in the funding deed requirements. 

You must provide the executed copy of the agreement.

Smart (networked) chargers ensure optimal use of the electricity required to charge BEVs as well as help manage electricity usage in buildings and the electricity grid.

Smart chargers can monitor electricity demand and usage remotely, plan how much electricity to send to a vehicle and schedule charging for off-peak times. This can reduce peak demand on the electricity grid, and can help save money. 

Yes, you can replace hybrids, plug-ins and internal combustion vehicles with BEVs/FCEVs. 

TCO calculations help fleet managers make informed decisions around the BEVs/FCEVs they wish to procure, as they require consideration of all the factors that will contribute to the cost of a BEV/FCEV over its lifetime.

Consideration of TCO is often not familiar for organisations that have only managed petrol or diesel vehicles previously.

BEVs/FCEVs generate savings over their lifetime due to lower maintenance costs, so comparing only the difference in the upfront price is financially  misleading.

Having fleet managers compare the TCO of a BEV/FCEV against a petrol / diesel equivalent allows them to calculate what the actual funding gap is over a fixed period of time (known as the TCO gap), and budget how much government incentive they need to make the business case viable. 

Co-funding is a key principle supported by NSW Government in the provision of incentives to promote new technologies.

We expect successful applicants to also contribute to bridge the gap in funding new technology investment, such as electric cars which are the focus of this incentive.   

However, an applicant can apply for an incentive covering the full gap if the TCO gap is less than $3,000. 

The 4-year TCO term figure is based on average ownership terms for fleet vehicles, but shorter terms can be selected (for example, one or 2 years). Setting a fixed term allows for a standard and fair TCO comparison between bidders. If a successful applicant owns or leases a vehicle   beyond  4-year TCO term cap, this will not affect the amount of funding received or the fixed TCO term. 

This reflects the fact that individual fleet managers have different business models, and some fleets retain vehicles for shorter lengths of time.

The incentive is aimed at providing funding when there is a shortfall when purchasing a BEV/FCEV over another vehicle.

If the calculation produces a negative TCO gap, congratulations! - no incentive is required to support the business case, and therefore the vehicle cannot be incentivised (and is therefore also not eligible to receive funds towards smart base charging equipment). 

No. Fleet managers can only change the requested level of incentive, delete a vehicle, or include a new vehicle. The TCO and assumptions behind it cannot be altered at this stage in the process.

Fleet managers can either increase or decrease the requested level of incentive in the final bidding window.

This is to ensure increased competitiveness between bids, and to ensure fleet managers only bid for a level of incentive required to make the procurement of BEVs/FCEVs viable for them.

This has been incorporated into the pre-calculated maintenance values on the bidding platform.

If you have different arrangements for your vehicle, you can change the pre-set values in the platform. Remember, you will need to show evidence of any changes to the pre-set values. 

No. The NSW Electric Vehicle Strategy does not include any action to address FBT, as FBT is a Commonwealth tax. 

Only vehicles used exclusively or primarily for supporting business operations are eligible for the incentive. 

No. You can only boost emissions abatement by using renewable energy for charging BEVs. Accepted sources of renewable energy are power purchase agreements, GreenPower, on-site renewables or public fast charging where 100% renewable energy powers the chargers.  

The sources of renewable energy that apply to the incentive are the direct purchase of GreenPower, a power purchase agreement, the use of onsite renewables or public fast charging where 100% renewable energy powers the chargers. 

The aggregator will need to provide evidence of implementing renewable energy, and there will be a rigorous verification process as part of the assessment.

Audits may occur to ensure incentives are provided for the intended purpose or application, and that the level of renewable energy claimed at the bidding stage is implemented.

No. The incentive does not define what should happen to a vehicle replaced by an incentivised BEV/FCEV, for example, scrap or resale.

Vehicles should be scrapped, re-sold or replaced in line with your individual organisational policy. 

An online information session will be held at the opening of each round. Session details will be posted here. A recording of the session will be made available online for the duration of the round.

Sign up to our e-newsletter to be one of the first to know about future sessions here.

Please email [email protected] for assistance.

Yes. Feedback on how final submitted bids compared to the bidder who ranked first, and what was the average incentive requested per tonne of CO2 equivalent abated ($/tCO2e) can be provided.

Details on whether a fleet submission did not meet the eligibility criteria or lodged all required supporting documentation can also be provided.

However, the office reserves the right to decline to give feedback in certain circumstances. 

No. Payments will be made only for vehicles that have been registered in NSW.

If a fleet manager does not purchase and register the vehicles that are bid for, or purchases a BEV/FCEV but does not register it in NSW, payment for the vehicles not purchased or registered will be withheld, and funds will be reallocated to future bidding rounds. 

Successful fleet managers that are no longer interested or able to use the funding are required to notify the Office in writingas soon as possible, so funding can be reallocated to future rounds. 

Vehicle purchase orders cannot be dated from before the launch of the funding round.

To access the incentive, successful individual fleets and aggregators must sign the funding deed within 30 business days from notification of results.

Purchase orders for successful individual fleets and aggregators must be submitted after the funding deed execution, and within 80 business days from notification of bid results.

Proof of purchase of smart base charging equipment must be provided within 180 business days from notification of bid results for both individual fleets and aggregators. 

Yes. You can procure BEVs/FCEVs via your usual procurement channels.

Successful applicants will receive the incentive specified in their bid, meaning different applicants may receive different levels of incentive for the same or similar BEVs/FCEVs.

This reflects the fact that not all organisations have the same opportunities to integrate BEVs/FCEVs into their fleets, or need the same level of NSW Government support to do so.  

Fleet managers that cannot secure vehicle(s) within the set timeframes will need to notify the office. 

Extensions to set terms may be granted at the Office’s discretion if there is a reasonable cause for delay and adequate evidence is provided. An extension will only be considered for vehicles with a purchase order in place. 

The incentive can only be used for the procurement of new vehicles. It cannot be used for procurements from the secondary market.

Where vehicle supply constraints prevent one lump sum payment to be made for all incentivised vehicles, an alternate payment plan involving milestone payments may be acceptable. This only applies to bids with more than 30 vehicles and where each milestone payment, at a minimum, includes 30 vehicles that have been registered in NSW. 

We have legal obligations under the Privacy and Personal Information Protection Act 1998 (NSW) in relation to the collection, storage, access, use and disclosure of personal information. 

If collecting your personal information, we will provide you with a privacy statement at the time of collection that details how this information will be managed in accordance with privacy law. 

We may publish aggregate information of round results on the Energy Saver website as well as use deidentified bid data in training materials, case studies, evaluations and other portfolio purposes. 

Information of a confidential nature provided as part of or in connection with any bid, will be treated as commercial-in-confidence information and only disclosed with the consent of the bidding organisation. However, commercial-in-confidence information provided by fleet managers may be disclosed: 

• to the Minister/the Minister’s Office 
• to department staff 
• to relevant parties for auditing purposes 
• where authorised or required by law to be disclosed.