EV sales rise again

The see-saw in EV sales continues, although it’s more a ‘see-soar’ for November with EV registrations up 550 on October.

That’s getting back to the heady heights of September’s 600 increase after COVID-19 pandemic restrictions lifted and people began buying EVs big time.

Just a 421 rise was recorded in October, prompting suggestions some hesitancy might be due to the October 17 general election in which Labour returned to power minus the NZ First “handbrake” on EV incentives.

The latest Ministry of Transport EV registration figures seem to indicate a return in EV confidence, especially as the new Labour government and its Green Party ally are making all the right noises about encouraging EV uptake.

Policies and incentives expected next year should promote EV purchases even further.

Newly released November MoT figures show 23,599 registrations for the month compared with 23,049 in October – up 550.

Used light pure electrics such as the Nissan Leaf lead the charge – up 260 (12,463 in November compared with 12,203 in October).

New light pure electrics like the Tesla Model 3 went up by 144 (5172 in November from 5028 in October).

In the plug-in hybrid (PHEV) sector, registrations for new PHEVs went up 91 (3572 from 3481) while used PHEVs rose by 51 (2188 from 2137).

Heavy EV registrations increased by four from 200 in October to 204 in November.

The November EV figures are way short of the 32,000 EVs predicted by the end of this year to reach the former National government’s target of 64,000 EVs on our roads by the end of 2021.

But who knows what next year will bring?