March EV uptake low

EV uptake remains low in March with EVs comprising 9.28% of new passenger cars (down from 27.2% for all of 2023), says advocacy group Drive Electric.

Modelling suggests 100,000 and 350,000 fewer EVs on New Zealand roads by 2030 than otherwise would have been with the removal of the Clean Car Discount (depending on the impact of the Clean Car Standard review) on December 31, 2023, says Drive Electric chair Kirsten Corson.

She says policy settings are increasingly favourable for petrol and diesel vehicles, adding there is a need for measures to encourage EV demand otherwise New Zealand risks losing models and volume to other right-hand drive markets, which will make a recovery slow.

“This also has broader economic impacts, including prolonging New Zealand’s $8 billion to $9 billion spend on fossil fuels every year,” says Corson, pointing to Prime Minister and National leader Christopher Luxon’s ‘action plan’ proposal to investigate the feasibility of reopening Marsden Point Oil Refinery and study New Zealand’s fuel security.

She says April 1 (Easter Monday) marked the first day EVs entered the road user charges (RUC) scheme but that EV drivers won’t be rushing to pay it, especially with Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency allowing until May 31 this year for light EV users to understand the system and buy their first RUC licence.

“I don’t think there’s going to be a stampede to be paying more,” says Corson, who adds that’s the indication from various EV drivers.

Corson says that while EV drivers aren’t opposed to paying RUC, EVs are still being charged 23% more than petrol cars and are paying a similar rate to diesel vehicles, with a universal RUC scheme probably five years away.

EVs remain the future for automotive technology globally, but New Zealand risks being left behind if it doesn’t encourage EV uptake, says Corson, explaining that a petrol/diesel vehicle bought today will be on the road for the next 15 to 20 years.

“There’s a huge opportunity at stake as New Zealanders increasingly consider EVs favourable but are hampered by relative purchase price,” she says.

Corson is keen to see Green MP Julie Anne Genter’s bill to exempt EVs from fringe benefit tax (FBT) proceed.

Green Party MP Julie Anne Genter says her members’ bill is an opportunity for the coalition government to plug the gap in EV incentives.

Genter’s Income Tax (Clean Transport FBT Exclusions) Amendment Bill was drawn from the members’ ballot and introduced to Parliament, which Genter says would exempt EVs from FBT for five years, to provide a clear financial incentive for employers to purchase new EVs as company cars.

“This Bill is an opportunity for the Government to address a glaring hole in its plan to electrify the vehicle fleet and meet their own commitment to reducing carbon emissions,” the Green Party transport spokesperson says.

“The percentage of electric vehicles coming into the country has plummeted since the Government repealed the Clean Car Discount, and the industry has warned that the high rate of Road User Charges (RUC) applied to EVs from April will further disincentivise the switch to efficient, low-carbon vehicles.”