RUC decisions for EVs expected 2020

Decisions on how road user charges (RUC) may apply to light electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids (PHEVs) will be made by the Government next year.

They’ll be introduced after 2021 when the present RUC exemption on those vehicles is due to be lifted.

This from an associate transport minister’s office spokesperson in response to an EVtalk reader’s request for more information on RUC proposals.

Gordon Mock of Tauranga, who owns two EVs, says many people ask him about the proposed taxes, concerned that any RUC for an EV may be similar to that for a diesel vehicle and therefore more tax than an economical petrol vehicle.

Anyone using New Zealand’s roads contributes towards their upkeep, according to the NZ Transport Agency RUC website.

Most pay levies when they buy fuel, but EV owners avoid that and RUC which is normally paid by drivers of light diesel vehicles and heavy vehicles such trucks.

The spokesperson says the transport system has a critical role to play in the transition to a net-zero carbon economy, and New Zealand needs to rapidly increase the proportion of fuel-efficient cars and EVs on our roads.

“To incentivise EV uptake, the RUC exemption for EV light vehicles is in place until the end of 2021.”

The spokesperson adds that the Ministry of Transport is currently looking at the wider issues of how vehicles using different fuels are charged to use the road network.

In other words, a major rethink is underway into the RUC system and charging for roads and you can expect more from the Government on this probably before the general election on November 21 next year.