That was Bathurst mayor Jess Jennings' reaction after Nationals Senator Bridget McKenzie was in the city recently.

Ms McKenzie was at Clancy Motors to talk about the Albanese Government's soon-to-be-introduced new vehicle efficiency standard - and she didn't hold back.

She described the standard - due to start on January 1, 2025 - as an "appalling betrayal" that will make new vehicles more expensive and said electric vehicles, which the standard is partly designed to bring to Australia in greater numbers, are simply not practical for those living in the country.

"There is not an EV on the market that can tow the horse float, the jet ski, the caravan, the trailer; that actually can allow you to put your family and your work stuff in the one vehicle and get around," she said.

"And because we don't live in a capital city, we need to have confidence that the car we drive can get us from A to B, even if that is 600 kilometres away."

Cr Jennings, who owns a Tesla electric vehicle, said he has been towing a boat to the coast and back for family holidays for the past two-and-a-half years.

The journey is generally Bathurst to the Hawkesbury River to Kiama to Tuross Head and back to Bathurst, he said.

"I remember that the first time we did it, it cost us $40 [in charging costs]; that's with the boat in tow," he said.

"And I think it's around 1400km that we clocked up, though it might not all, strictly speaking, have been with the boat on the back all the time."

As well, Cr Jennings said he had "towed heaps of heavy loaded trailers to the tip, helped people move furniture from Canberra to Bathurst" and had taken cattle to Central Tablelands Livestock Exchange at Carcoar using his Tesla.

"It works a treat," he said.

In terms of the new vehicle efficiency standard, the Albanese Government says car companies will be given targets for average emissions per kilometre from new - not used - vehicles sold.

The government says suppliers will still be able to sell any vehicle type they choose, "but they'll need to sell more fuel-efficient models to offset any less efficient models they sell".

One of the options for a manufacturer that sells more polluting vehicles than its target will be to pay a penalty.

Clancy Motors dealer-principal Michael Pentecost said during Ms McKenzie's visit that only three per cent of the dealership's financial year-to-date sales "have been in EV categories" - and that was not based just on a lack of availability.

"It's really driven by what people want to drive and what they need to drive for their work choice, their leisure choice, day-to-day running," he said.

"My son played football out here and we'd go to Forbes, Mudgee, Dubbo for different games.

"Hybrid is a bit of an option, but EV isn't fit for purpose for those distances."

Cr Jennings said he was aware that towing a boat with an electric vehicle was not the same as towing a caravan, but said the technology was changing rapidly.

Tesla's new Cybertruck - which Cr Jennings said he saw on the road during a recent trip to the US, though he knows it is not available in Australia - is able to tow five tonnes, he said.

He said electric vehicles were, until relatively recently, almost unheard of and "now they're the fastest growing section of a lot of markets".

"There will probably be a mass market battery that can generate 1000 kilometres range in the next 10 years," he said.

"And that just absolutely wipes the floor with everything."