Tesla chair charged up by NZ’s EV moves

Tesla chair and Australian executive Robyn Denholm has praised New Zealand at the recent APEC chief executive summit for its moves to boost EVs and reduce emissions.

EV incentives and the New Zealand Government-led proposed vehicle emissions standards are world-leading examples of leadership, says Denholm, suggesting her own federal government is lagging while some Australian states are implementing their own EV incentives.

She says the New Zealand Government’s Clean Car Discount rebate scheme is world class, adding it encouraged EV sales to increase from 3% of new light car sales to 12% in a few months, while new car carbon emissions dropped 15%.

The Clean Car’s feebate scheme, aimed at increasing the cost of polluting cars to help subsidise low emission vehicles, applies from April 1 next year.

Denholm says EVs comprise about 1% of the 1.5 billion cars globally, and to decarbonise the world fleet by 2050 could probably see the end of most internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicle sales by 2030.

She says Tesla wants to make 20 million EVs annually by 2030 but the global transition is a challenge, particularly in accelerating the technology for a renewable energy transformation at pace.

Introduced at the summit by Contact Energy chair Robert McDonald, Denholm says Tesla’s focus is on two sectors responsible for half of global carbon emissions – electricity generation and transport.

Lithium-ion batteries are critical, helping to lower electricity prices and affordably solve grid stability and reliability issues, she says, adding that APEC countries need to cooperate on them.

“The number one thing I urge all countries in the APEC region to do is to strengthen emission standards,” Denholm told the summit.

“This fundamentally changes the economics of CO2 pollution in vehicles and also gives the industry throughout the supply chain confidence to invest knowing that the market is heading towards EV.”

She believes New Zealand’s Clean Car scheme will put its vehicle fleet amongst the cleanest and safest in the world.

“Globally we can only transition to reliable, cost-effective renewables as fast as we can build energy storage. We can only reduce vehicle pollution as fast we can build electric vehicles. That is the race.

“The supply chains for batteries and vehicles are immense. The required growth for minerals and materials is exponential. This is the time for countries to back their sustainable mining, refining and manufacturing capability.”

APEC economies could give markets certainty and direction by setting clear and ambitious timelines for technology transition and this included strong vehicle emission standards, not just for 2050 but importantly for the next five to 10 years, Denholm says.

Leaders could invest and underwrite supply chains for the new energy era ensuring they met environmental and social standards, prepare energy grids for transition and preserve free trade.