[glend (Glen)]

Why is it that Australia is so far behind in relation to electric vehicle choice? There are literally hundreds of small electric cars being sold all around the world, often through online dealers, yet none of these is available in Australia. Sure many of these micro electrics would not conform to Australian Design Rules, but in many cases buyers would not be seeking to use these vehicles on the M1 in rush hour. There needs to be another class of vehicles that fills the niche for local shopping, or commuting in your area.
I recently looked at trying to find one of these small electrics, as a private import, but it seems registration would be banned, at least in NSW. Some of these vehicles are built by established traditional manufacturers.
The Renault Twizzy has been around in Europe for a decade, but has no chance in Australia. You can probably get a grey import of a used one, but the costs would make it prohibitive. There are all sort of Grey Imports from Japan running around, and they are all petrol or diesel powered.
Ebikes and larger seated enclosed Scooters are another category where we lose out. There is pretty much one variant of ebikes sold here, a pedal assist low Watt variety. The ebikes market is huge in Europe and Asia.
Why can we not break through on these efficient personal vehicles?