National – ACT reaffirm plans to cancel Clean Car Discount

National and ACT have both reaffirmed their previously announced plans to cancel the Clean Car Discount, a decision highlighted during a recent political debate.

This announcement took place at the Motor Trade Association’s political debate, held online in Wellington.

Moderated by TV political journalist Lloyd Burr, the panel consisted of National transport spokesperson Simeon Brown, ACT’s Simon Court, the Green Party’s Julie Anne Genter, and Labour’s Helen White. Unlike the other panelists, White is not a transport spokesperson but stepped in for the party after Michael Wood’s departure from the transport role.

For Court, scrapping the programme was a top priority, as he emphasised in his opening statement, “Let’s cancel the Clean Car Discount and Clean Car Standard”.

Brown’s response to an online audience query about National’s stance on the Clean Car Discount was a succinct: “Yes’.

While National had previously expressed intentions to remove the measure, as previously reported in AutoTalk, the party hadn’t clarified its position on removing the Clean Car Standard.

Both White and Genter defended the scheme. Genter, an early advocate, highlighted its impact on the variety of vehicles entering the market and how cars introduced under the scheme might transition to the used market.

The debate prominently featured Clean Car issues and electric vehicles, but various other subjects were addressed.

Go to AutoTalk for more on this story.