New vehicle CO2 emissions in 2021 dropped 4.7% on the 2020 figure, the steepest drop since 2006, but it is not enough progress towards avoiding upcoming Government penalties and the domino effect these would have on sticker prices, says the Motor Industry Association (MIA).
MIA Chief Executive David Crawford says there were 25,194 new vehicles powered by some form of electrification sold in New Zealand last year. That was a 94% increase on the previous year, when 12,997 were sold.
The Government's Clean Car Standard already offers a 'carrot' to the purchasers of certain vehicles, in the form of the clean car discount, which has been available since 1 July 2021 and offers a financial kickback on purchases of new or newly imported electric vehicles (EVs) or petrol hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) until March 31.
From April 1 the Clean Car Discount will be based on the CO2 emissions of any individual vehicle and would include hybrids, which are currently excluded.
Vehicles with zero or low emissions would qualify for a rebate and those with high emissions would incur a fee, according to Waka Kotahi (NZTA).
This 'stick' end of the Clean Car Standard, became popularly known as the 'ute tax'.
For importers and suppliers, though the 2021 numbers are positive, they are not on track to avoid impending CO2 targets set by the Government as part of the Clean Car Standard which, incrementally between 2023 and 2025, will attract penalties for every vehicle imported that exceeds them.
“For our sector to reach the proposed 2025 target, we needed to have reduced our average emissions by 10% in 2021, not 4.7%,” says Crawford.
Even though the 94% increase in low emission sales is an impressive yearly figure, if the industry does not catch up, the "prices for vehicles will increase to offset the penalties faced by new vehicle importers,” he says.
Ahead of the second and third reading of the Land Transport (Clean Vehicles) Amendment Bill, the MIA called for the Minister to "review the targets so they remain challenging, not crippling."
Electric vehicles do not currently pay road user charges and are exempt until March 2024. This saves an electric vehicle driver approximately $720 per year compared to a diesel vehicle, according to Te Manatu Waka (Ministry of Transport).
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