‘Pricing is downright abusive’

This story first appeared in the August issue of EVTalk – CLICK HERE to download the magazine FREE

Some of the pricing for new EVs in New Zealand is ‘downright abusive’, according to US zero-emission vehicle advocate, Chelsea Sexton.

“The Outlander PHEV at $49k is pricey, but the Renault Zoe – a Nissan Leaf-sized vehicle – at $74k is just crazy,” she says.

“The Audi E-tron is $76k here – in the States it is US$38k. Even with a little bit of shipping and the exchange rate taken into account, it’s costly.

“The same with the Nissan Leaf when it was sold here new.

“The distributors are making sure, with pricing like that, that there is no market for new EVs in New Zealand.”

Sexton says that it is the CARB mandate (named after the California Air Resources Board) that is driving EV sales in the States.

“There are 10 ‘carb’ states in the US – California and Oregon in the west, and eight other states in the east,” she says.

“Their emissions’ mandates are driving EV sales with their strict emissions requirements – as is the case in Europe .

“The vehicle manufacturers might have lost the moral high ground to the politicians – through the cheating on emissions from Volkswagen and Mitsubishi etc – but this does not stop their shenanigans around  lobbying.”