Victoria’s only electric-vehicle incentive – a $100 annual registration discount for ‘zero- and low-emission’ cars, including plug-in hybrids – isn’t continuing into 2026.
Registration costs for electric, plug-in hybrid and hydrogen cars in Victoria have fallen back to the standard light-vehicle rate from today, following the conclusion of the state government’s $100 discount on the annual renewal fee.
Last December, the Victorian Government announced it would end its $100 registration discount for ‘zero- and low-emission vehicles’ (ZLEVs) – battery-electric, plug-in hybrid and hydrogen fuel-cell – from January 1, 2026.
It was the only incentive remaining for zero- and low-emission cars in the state after it ended its $3000 subsidy for ‘new or demonstrator’ battery-electric vehicles priced below $68,740 on June 30, 2023, two years after it was introduced.
A $50 registration discount was introduced for conventional hybrid – and later, electric, plug-in hybrid and hydrogen fuel-cell – vehicles in Victoria in the late 2000s, when the Toyota Prius was one of the few electrified models on sale, before it was doubled to $100 in 2010.
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Conventional hybrid models – such as the Prius, Camry and RAV4 – were removed from the scheme from July 1, 2021, when the Victorian Government also introduced a road-user charge for zero- and low-emission vehicles.
Following a High Court challenge, state-based road-user charges were ruled unconstitutional in October 2023, forcing the Victorian Government to end its levy for electric, plug-in hybrid, and hydrogen cars, though until now, it had retained its registration discount.
Drive understands at least 130,000 electric, plug-in hybrid and hydrogen fuel-cell owners in Victoria will be impacted by the change.
In his 2024/25 mid-year budget update in December 2024, former Victorian Treasurer Tim Pallas projected the end of the registration discount would add $15 million in state revenue for the remainder of the current 2025/26 financial year.
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“From 1 January 2026, zero and low emission vehicles (ZLEVs) will no longer receive the annual $100 registration discount,” Pallas said in December 2024.
“The proportion of sales of light vehicles without internal combustion engines is growing rapidly, from 8.9 per cent in the second quarter of 2022 to 24.2 per cent in the second quarter of 2024, with the proportion of electric vehicle variants more than quadrupling over the same two-year period.”
“Registration renewal fees for ZLEVs will automatically revert to the standard light vehicle registration charge.
“ZLEVs pay less or no fuel excise, and this will help ensure that all road users contribute their fair share to building and maintaining Victoria’s roads.”
The post Electric and plug-in hybrid owners lose registration discount in Victoria from today appeared first on Drive.
