Wood pledges continuing work with VIA on Clean Car

Transport minister Michael Wood says he will continue to work with VIA on the government’s Clean Car plans and has asked officials to assess the industry’s concerns.

VIA pulled the plug on its support for the scheme, citing ongoing ‘failure in the implementation’ of the Clean Car Discount as the driver behind the move.

In a response to the move issued to AutoTalk, Wood acknowledged there are ‘teething issues’ with the discount.

“As with any new policy, there have been some teething issues with implementation,” Wood says. “Of the cases brought to Waka Kotahi’s attention for investigation between 1 April and 30 June 2022, only 44 required a correction. In addition, Waka Kotahi is undertaking an ongoing proactive audit of the scheme which has identified a further 36 that required a correction.”

He downplayed them in the context of the number of vehicles sold with discounts.

“However it is important that these issues are in seen in the wider context,” he says. “In its first year, the Clean Car Discount has proven a huge success with more than 57,000 light electric and non plug-in hybrid vehicles registered, resulting in significant emissions reductions across cars coming into New Zealand.

“It has also clearly influenced importers of vehicles, who in many cases have been importing lower emitting vehicles into the New Zealand market to meet demand – this is the scheme working as it is meant to, to clean up our fleet.”

He has committed to keeping in touch with VIA on the issue and is directing officials to assess VIA’s claims.

“I continue to engage with VIA and have asked senior officials at Waka Kotahi to commence an assessment of the concerns they have raised to determine if we can iron out any remaining obstacles.”

“I am confident that for the majority of Kiwis the Clean Car Discount is working as expected with correct rates charged, and for those who have face issues Waka Kotahi has worked with them to resolve the issues.”