One of my daughters needs to replace her car. She has four children, so it has to be big. She was offered a second-hand Mercedes at a very affordable price. It was only two years old, in perfect order and the asking price was around one-third of the original purchase price.

But the hitch – nay deal-breaker – was the fact that the car was totally electric. She was also told that in another two years’ time, the car would be effectively worthless. She passed.

Let us not forget that the switch to electric vehicles is a central part of B1’s (Chris Bowen’s) plan to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 2030 from the 2005 level by 43 per cent. Various EV targets have been floated, including 50 per cent of new car sales being fully electric by 2030. At some point – more than a few drops of alcohol could have been involved – a figure of 90 per cent was even floated.

The reality for disappearing Climate Change and Energy Minister, Chris Bowen – have you noticed that he has been laying low? – is that recent sales of electric vehicles have been extremely sluggish – and that’s being generous.  At one stage, EV sales got up to around 10 per cent of total new car sales, but the percentage has fallen back and generally has a 6 in front of the percentage of monthly sales.

To be sure, plug-in hybrid sales have been going well, but this is partly being driven by the Fringe Benefit Tax concession that applies to both EVs and plug-in hybrids and the fact that hybrids are being cut from the concession in the next few months.

Let’s not forget here that there is always a cohort of virtue-signalling early adopters to drive early EV sales. Gosh, there was even a substantial waiting period before the flashy Tesla was delivered to the front door. The bigheaded drivers could then cruise around the ’hood with the car’s whisper quietness acting as a clever disguise for the driver’s boastfulness.

There is a very high degree of irony now as the owners of Teslas quickly consider trading in their vehicles that have recently become a serious source of embarrassment given the connection to Elon Musk and the link between Musk and President Trump. Is this just hell on earth for them? These Tesla owners will also be considering the massive loss of value they will sustain as they seek to offload their computers on wheels.

There is even a suggestion that the anti-Tesla demonstrations that are being held in parts of the US are being financed by George Soros and his socialistic mates. There have even been some ritual burnings of the weird looking Tesla truck, sharp angles and all.

If you are signalling your virtue, it’s possibly not surprising that you aren’t too worried about the details of your contribution to saving the planet. But we have known for some time that the net impact of EVs on emissions is quite ambiguous because they are much more emissions-intensive to build than vehicles with an internal combustion engine.

It takes up to 60,000 to 80,000 kilometres of travel for an EV to register a net emissions benefit from its zero tailpipe emissions.  Let’s just hope you haven’t had a little bingle in that time because there is a fair chance the car will be written off.

Let’s face it, the EV crowd tends to be driven by two factors – the array of government subsidies on offer, particularly the exemption from Fringe Benefits Tax, and appearing to be an environmentally concerned citizen, probably in that order. We have seen overseas that the withdrawal of government subsidies for EVs tends to lead to precipitous falls in demand.

Unsurprisingly, B1 has been rather quiet about the doleful EV sales although there are always excuses. We are waiting for a bigger range of EVs from which to choose – read Chinese cars. We are waiting to see more fast charging infrastructure to be installed – the government is on the case. New technologies always take some time to be widely taken up.

In the meantime, the price, the range anxiety, the high insurance costs and the rapid depreciation are the key factors putting off ordinary punters from even considering an EV.

But this is where B1’s cunning plan comes in: both to lead and make the horse drink. This is the real aim of the New Vehicles Emissions Standard (NVES) about which I have written in the past. Well, the NVES is now in place and the penalties for purchasing a normal (internal combustion engine) vehicle ramp up over time.

As for Jimbo saying that the NVES will not affect the relative prices of different types of vehicles, he needs to go back to school. This is how these schemes work.  Manufacturers are forced to meet an average emissions standard over all the cars they sell each year. This provides them with an incentive to cross-subsidise low-emitting vehicles, particularly EVs, which comes at the expense of all other cars. Failure to meet the target results in a substantial fine for the company.

According to the world of Jimbo, the NVES will simply lead to a greater choice of vehicles for sale and there won’t be any price impacts. But just think about it: where will all these new cars be coming from? That’s right, from communist China.

It’s fine for the lefty love-in crowd to turn their backs on Tesla – mind you, the ones we get here are made in China, in any case – but they also need to realise that they are simply playing into the hands of China and its quest to dominate the global EV market.

It is worth noting that schemes like the NVES are in trouble all around the world. Their targets are being rapidly watered down as those stubborn horses refuse to drink the water – that is, consumers won’t buy EVs in greater numbers, even with incentives.  And, of course, The Donald simply wiped the US federal scheme with an early executive order.

And – Hallelujah! – the Coalition as part of its election pitch, is committing to ditch our very own NVES. Sadly, this news hasn’t hit the front pages at this stage, but it’s a very sensible decision for a country such as Australia. Consumer sovereignty, tick; government dictates, cross.

EVs are fine to undertake short trips around the city. Regenerative braking helps their range.They will probably work for taxis and some delivery vans. It also helps a great deal if you have a garage to park the car and three-phase power to charge it up.

But if you are taking longer trips, particularly in regional areas, they are simply not an option. The EV is a busted flush.