For the transport industry to make a meaningful contribution to achieving Australia’s Net Zero target by 2050, there needs to be a rapid transition to zero emission vehicles – increasing from 100,000 vehicles in 2022 to over 1 million vehicles by 2027.
Australia’s State and Commonwealth Governments have recognised the need to reduce vehicle emissions, and they are now supporting and incentivising EV transition.  However, to make a real step change in EV uptake, this incentivisation needs to be coordinated and revolutionary.  The transition of Australia’s vehicle fleet needs to look beyond simply replacing end-of-life combustion engine vehicles with zero emission equivalents – and consider the whole-of-life operational ecosystem supporting EV use. Whilst Australia is generally behind the rest of the world in the adoption of EVs for private use, this has created a significant opportunity for us to learn from early adopters and achieve optimal outcomes quicker as we navigate the provision of EV charging infrastructure and renewable energy sources. 
To assist and inform those considering EV transition, this paper will put Australia’s EV challenge into a global context, sharing examples of EV transition elsewhere, the challenges encountered, and the learnings gained that we could benefit from. The paper will also detail the established steps in planning and effectively achieving EV transition, and the benefits of considering the whole of life operational ecosystem surrounding EVs, charging infrastructure, operations and renewable energy generation.