Did anyone notice the announcement dropped just before Christmas of the new emissions rules that will impact sales of most of the popular utes SUVs and 4WDs farmers and tradies rely on?

Welcome to the impact of the world of government emissions reductions over and above rising power bills and of giant windfarms dotting the landscape.

For those who know their cars, the days are numbered for the number series 75s, 80s, 300s, 150s,  300s, not to mention the Raptors, Rams or even the bog standard Hilux, Triton and Nivara.

Soon, all of the above, thanks to the climate change catastrophists, will join the SS Commodore and XR8 Falcon as relics of the past, cars only our teenage children can dream of owning.

In less than two years’ time (December 2025), all four-wheel drives and utes will need to comply with harsh European ‘noxious emissions standards’.

The move will force manufacturers to sell EU spec versions of their cars in Australia to comply with the new Euro 6d rules. 

Anyone who has been to Europe will note the lack of twin cab utes or any big car unless the driver is mega rich.

The next generation light cars, SUVs and commercial vehicles being introduced in Australia from December 2025 will all have to comply with the Albanese government’s strict standards.

Existing production models will be allowed to be sold until 2028, but would then be banned unless the petrol or diesel engines were replaced with modern versions that emitted less carbon.

To give you a taste of what we are in for, for cars in Europe under the Euro 6d rule, the new maximum is 162 grams of carbon dioxide per kilometre. The Toyota HiLux produces 210 grams for every kilometre and the Ford Ranger comes in at 202 grams of CO2 per kilometre.

To address, this Toyota is introducing a hybrid HiLux in Australia, while Ford, from 2025, will be selling a plug-in hybrid version of the Ranger. 

I wonder if the Ford and Toyota stands at Dowerin will be brave enough to feature electric utes?

As for the aspirational LandCruisers, it’s a goner as large four-wheel drives without a hybrid version won’t be part of a manufacturer’s mix of cars,

The new 300 Series with all the latest efficiency still puts out 253 grams of carbon per kilometre; a shade under the Ford F-150s 256 grams of carbon per kilometre.

The Ford would only survive if the new fully-electric Ford Lightning version was imported into Australia. 

The EV versions of the RAM 1500 and Chevrolet Silverado would also have to come to Australia for their big beasts to continue being sold at dealerships.

But this is only the beginning; by hooking ourselves up to the EU standards we will be forced to follow them as they ratchet down their future targets for 2030, 2035, let alone 2050.

The EU has set an aspirational 95 grams of CO2/km by 2025, and for light commercial vehicles – think small trucks – the limit is set at just 147 grams/km.

Any idiot would see it’s madness to link Australia to the EU standards, unless that is you are a frustrated Green Teal voting bureaucrat in Canberra working in the Department of Agriculture on closing the live export trade when you should have been picked for that Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade job in Brussels.

The one upside is that Australia has not yet banned – like the Europeans have – the sale of new petrol and diesel cars from 2035. 

Even if Australia doesn’t copy this approach, large four-wheel drives and utes face extinction within five years unless they are sold alongside hybrids or fully-electric cars.

These new regulations will push automakers to prioritise smaller engines and lower horsepower, which won’t go down well with farmers and tradies.

They can only do this by pricing vehicles accordingly, so those who need big vehicles for work on the farm will be subsiding those who can take the train to work and have a small electric car parked at home.

The one big bonus for the sheep farmers in WA is that soon they won’t need to buy a new ute as there won’t be any sheep to round up as their wont be a live sheep industry. You can thank the Minister for Agriculture for that. See, he had your best interests in mind all along.