Yes, ScoMo, an electric car will tow a boat

The claim, made in the wake of Labor’s announcement that it would speed up the uptake of electric cars in Australia if it sweeps to power in the May 18 federal election, was put to the test by the RMIT ABC Fact Check team.

The verdict? It fell very flat.

"[An electric vehicle] won't tow your trailer,” Morrison said after the opposition dropped that it would set a target of ensuring half of all new car sales by 2030 will use battery power.

“It's not going to tow your boat. It's not going to get you out to your favourite camping spot with your family."

The fact check team said Morrison’s claim “is in need of a tune up”.

“Right now, there are a handful of electric vehicles available on the Australian market and only around half specify towing capacity,” it said. “However, those powerful enough to tow a boat or caravan come with a hefty price tag of $100,000 or more.

“Experts told Fact Check that electric vehicles under development by leading manufacturers and due to be released onto the market well before 2030, are likely to have the capacity to tow a trailer or boat with similar efficiency as petrol-based vehicles.”

A Tesla Model X, on sale in Australia and running purely on electrons, will tow up to 2250kg, which is more than enough to pull a reasonably sized trailer boat.

Similarly, a Jaguar I-Pace will pull up to 750kg, the equivalent of a small tinnie at best, but still a boat.

Cars such as the Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV, which can either use an electric motor drawing energy from a rechargeable battery for around 30km of travel, or a petrol engine to drive the vehicle can tow up to 1500kg.

The second generation of Nissan’s battery-powered Leaf, which could tow very light loads in its first-generation guise, is due to go on sale in Australia soon. It is not known yet if the new version, with greatly improved range, will also tow.

The Hyundai Kona Electric, which is already on sale in Australia, does not have a tow rating.