MTA suggests emissions testing, scrappage scheme, holistic view

A single-minded focus on EVs and plans to try to rapidly increase the number of EVs on New Zealand roads are unrealistic.

So says the Motor Trade Association (MTA) in its advice to government following the release of the Climate Change Commission’s final report on reducing carbon emissions, with central government required to deliver emission reduction plans and budgets by the end of 2021 to provide an outlook and targets for the next 15 years.

It adds that “worse, (an EV-only focus) will deliver unintended consequences in the areas of road safety and wellbeing”.

The MTA is concerned that unless a coordinated whole-of-life approach is taken to reducing transport emissions – from import, through in-service to end of life – the government’s Road to Zero Vision where no one is killed or seriously injured in road crashes is at risk.

All vehicles should have their emissions tested as part of their regular maintenance, disposal of unwanted polluting vehicles should be via a scrappage scheme, and investigation of all technologies and incentives promoting lower emissions is needed.

“We need to look at all technologies and incentives that promote lower emissions and not put Kiwis at risk or leave them isolated,” the MTA says.

“We need a plan that also deals with how we dispose of these vehicles to make room for a cleaner future.

“While it was pleasing to see the final advice of the Climate Change Commission did go some way to addressing the first point, more needs to be done. And the other points weren’t effectively addressed at all.”

While the MTA says it and more than 3800 automotive business members support the government’s climate change goals, the New Zealand light vehicle fleet is old and aging (averaging 14 years) as they are mostly used imports and that Kiwis are “highly influenced” by price.

The MTA estimates that in 2030, due to low EV availability and penalties on petrol engine vehicles, an average Kiwi family will need to spend about 22% more to buy an imported vehicle.

EVs will simply be out of reach for many New Zealanders,” it says, the MTA’s advice appearing to have been developed before the June 13 announcement of a Clean Car package which included a “feebate” scheme offering discounts on low to zero emission vehicles from July 1 this year and penalties on polluters from January 1, 2022.

The MTA believes many Kiwis will be obliged to keep their aging cars longer and face a greater risk of involvement in fatal crashes.

“If people choose not to drive for safety reasons or can’t due to being unable to afford to maintain their aging car, we are concerned about the impact of the more vulnerable members of society, their ability to find and maintain employment and their social isolation.”

The MTA says these unintended consequences can be avoided and need to be considered by the government.

The government wants vehicles coming into the country in 2025 to be at or below 105grams of CO2 per km driven, so the MTA says it wants to see regular emissions testing of vehicles.

“This might be every couple of years after the vehicle reaches a certain age. In this way, Kiwi drivers will be more aware of the contribution their own transport is making to the climate change problem.

“It is also a little-known fact that vehicle emissions get worse over time, especially if the vehicle is not regularly serviced and maintained. Little fixes, like replacing worn out oxygen sensors or changing fuel filters can do a lot to improve the performance of a vehicle.

“At the moment, vehicles are almost 20 years old when they are de-registered (scrapped) from the New Zealand fleet. If the vehicles that come in this year are held for the same period of time, then a large number of vehicles will still be emitting high levels of CO2 in 2041.

“Nearly a third of vehicles in New Zealand are already over 15 years old. We need a dedicated and coordinated scrappage scheme that makes it easy for owners to dispose of their old vehicles and incentivise them into newer, cleaner vehicles (or even provide support for alternative transport options).”

The MTA says it asked consumers about this and 80% agreed that a scrappage scheme would be a good idea, with the incentive needing to be at least $2000.