Kim Carr (Victoria, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Innovation, Industry, Science and Research) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I would like to correct the record with regard to a statement made in question time. There is always some confusion on the question of fuel usage in vehicles, whether they are six-cylinder or four-cylinder vehicles. I note that the Camry is a four-cylinder vehicle. For the sake of completeness, I would like to indicate that, at today’s fuel prices, a family currently driving a 20,000-kilometre a year conventional six-cylinder petrol car that has achieved 11 litres per 100 kilometres can expect to save somewhere between $300 and $1,100 per annum on fuel costs by switching to green car technologies. For a high-tech petrol powered green car of the same size with cylinder deactivation, turbo charging or direct injection, the saving would be $330 a year. For a diesel powered car, it would be $374 a year, for an LPG powered car it would be $1,092 a year and for a petrol-electric hybrid the saving could be $990 a year. These comparisons of course depend on the relative fuel prices. They are the latest estimates I have received from my department. However, we must also remember, because of the price differential between LPG and petrol, the cost saving is not the same thing as a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions.