Farmers say there's a need for market access as electric utes set to arrive

Beef producer Rob McCreath, Deloraine, Tas, said he has owned an electric two-wheeled bike on his farm for two years now, but sees several points for market and industry improvement.

"We move our animals regularly with rotational grazing every day or two," he said.

"It's got a lot of good points, it's dead quiet so when you go around stock you aren't disturbing them, they don't think they're getting shifted.

"We could do with something that's a bit heavier-built, a better model that's a bit more rugged."

A recent Climate Council survey has shown 80 per cent of participants feel pressure from high and rising petrol costs, while 74pc said lowering car pollution was important to address climate change.

The survey also showed 65pc agreed there needed to be access to cleaner, more efficient cars.

Mr McCreath said there was a need for renewable energy.

"I get quite annoyed we don't have access to the latest motor-efficient vehicles," he said.

"There are more and more charging stations being rolled out, a lot of hire cars seem to be electric now so things seem to be changing fast."

Electric vehicle importer Russell Klose, Yackandandah, said there were a few farmers nearby with electric vehicles, who purchase and upgrade with larger tyres.

"We've got one guy who bought a [Nissan] Leaf, he used to run around in his Amarok everywhere, he has saved thousands of dollars," he said.

"They're early-adopters and they're really trying to make it work for them, and once they start and alter a few things it works really well for them.

"Everyone is just hanging out for a good quality, affordable, electric ute and boy will that go really well once it gets here."

Mr Klose said several major manufacturers were looking to bring electric utes to the market.

"Definitely by next year we've got some cracker utes coming," he said.

"And that's going to be transformative."

He said there was a lack of maintenance with electric vehicles, with no need to do oil changes, no gearboxes, and no automatic servicing.

Climate Council head of advocacy Jennifer Rayner said they had heard a lot of "self-interested talk" from multinational car brands about consumer demand, but most Australians wanted cost-efficient and climate-efficient vehicles.

"The big brands aren't bringing cleaner, cheaper cars to Australia right now, even though they're already selling them in the millions overseas," Dr Rayner said.

"An effective New Vehicle Efficiency Standard can change that."

She said offering cleaner cars was a practical solution, and she called on the Federal Government to deliver the new standard "as soon as possible".

Mr Klose said the electric vehicle infrastructure had "improved amazingly", with charging stations now at Yackandandah, Wangaratta, Beechworth and surrounding towns.

"I'm a real advocate for electric vehicles but until we can get to the stage where someone can get in their car and simply pull into a charging station," he said.

"It's going to be a hurdle until we can get to that point."