NSW Premier Chris Minns has rejected claims his government's proposal to scrap electric vehicle rebates and stamp duty exemptions would reduce incentives for potential buyers of the environmentally friendly cars.
In the first NSW Labor budget in more than a decade, due to be handed down on Tuesday, the government will allocate $260 million to supercharge the uptake of electric vehicles.
The funding will be rolled out as part of an EV strategy and includes infrastructure projects and upgrades that prioritise regional NSW, renters, apartment dwellers and people who don't have access to home chargers.
Fast chargers on commuter routes, more kerbside chargers near apartment blocks and upgraded grid capacity and charging hubs to support fleets are expected to be among the funded projects.
But the government will also scrap existing electric vehicle incentives such as rebates for purchases and stamp duty exemptions, arguing they drive up the price rather than encourage buyers.
The benefits will end from January 1, 2024 but people who have already placed a deposit will still be able to access the incentives even if their electric vehicle is delivered after that date.
Mr Minns said scrapping the rebates would not result in people choosing not to buy an electric car.
"The evidence that we had from Treasury was that the subsidy was just being added to the sticker price, so you're seeing (car) prices increase as a result," he told reporters.
"Anyone who has got an electric vehicle will tell you the number one challenge is charging stations and that's exactly where we're going to put our money."
But the Electric Vehicle Council said data showed the incentives were working to encourage drivers to transition.
The council argued sales had gone up by 450 per cent and the most popular EV models had fallen in price by $8000 since the NSW rebates were established.
Chief executive Behyad Jafari said the move risked stalling momentum for EV takeup in NSW.
"Labor backed these EV incentives when the former coalition government introduced them and did not give any indication they were planning to cut them before the election," he said.
"The NSW incentives, combined with more affordable EV imports, were just starting to drive significant uptake in Sydney's west and the state's regions (and) now the government wants to kill that momentum."
Mr Jafari said the proposal was short-term thinking which could end up increasing emissions in the long-term.
