Biggest importer in EV move

The biggest importer of used vehicles into the country has thrown its weight behind the burgeoning electric vehicle (EV) market – offering free compliance on vehicles it imports for traders.

From August 1, Nichibo removed the $300 compliance inspection costs of any EV imported by the company for its network of 300 used vehicle traders nationally. The offer will not be exclusive to Japanese imports but will be extended to EVs imported from Australia and the UK.

And it is not a short-term offer – with a commitment to the plan for two years.

The offer covers just the inspection, not parts or remedial work, and saves the importing trader over $300.

The incentive is possible through an agreement between Nichibo’s significant importation business and compliance operations, FastTrack and Motorsafe. Nichibo will also include EVs imported through Nichibo and complied through their network of participating compliance service providers.

“Our motivation is to make EVs more affordable to the New Zealand public,” says Nichibo director Robert Young.

“One of the biggest challenges to ownership of brand new EVs is the initial purchase price; that premium over an equivalent petrol car isn’t offset by the fuel savings you experience with EV technology. A high quality used option, like those Nichibo sources for its clients, improves the whole of lifecycle proposition of an EV massively.

“It’s very much a have your cake and eat it too situation. More and more environmentally conscious buyers are taking advantage of this.”

Nichibo has imported close to 300 electric vehicles, almost 20% of the entire EV fleet.

Imported Motor Vehicle Industry Association chief executive David Vinsen welcomes the move.

“I think this is an excellent initiative by one of the leading suppliers in the country,” Vinsen says.

“It follows a recent meeting with high-level government officials attended by the IMVIA, including Robert Young. The government made it very clear it is serious about its EV targets.

“I have never seen a government initiative being picked up and developed as aggressively and comprehensively as EV vehicles.”
“The import market is set to play a key role in the shift to electric propulsion of the fleet.

“Certainly, the government’s strategy is to encourage government departments and corporates to buy new electric cars, which can then trickle down as used cars to the public,” he explains.

“However, that takes time, and the initial impetus is likely to come from the import of used vehicles that take advantage of tax advantages and incentives in the source market to materially bring prices down.”

Nichibo expecting to play part in new EV market

Nichibo is also the national distributor for Mahindra’s new vehicles – a brand quickly emerging as an EV superpower globally. India has stated it wishes to shift 100% to electric vehicles by 2030. As the country’s largest automaker, Mahindra is a mass producer of electric city cars and small commercials.

It confirmed its expertise in EV technology when it became a founding manufacturer in the FIA Formula E racing series. Robert Young was in London last month to see the brand take the podium for the first time.

“Mahindra is a fledgling brand in New Zealand, but the Formula E series shows we are capable of competing and beating well-known brands – the learnings we take from Formula E are fed into future models, so we have an exciting time ahead of us,”
Young says. “The e2o EV city car was recently launched in the UK, and we’ll review that model for suitability in New Zealand.

“Our vision is to offer the lowest-cost entry into new EV passenger cars in New Zealand; I’m confident we can deliver on that in the not-to-distant future.”