No decision on replacing Ministers’ Crown vehicles despite being ‘immediate priority’

Crown vehicles are used to ferry Ministers and dignitaries around. Photo / Department of Internal Affairs.

The replacement of vehicles in the Crown car fleet used to chauffeur Ministers won’t happen until sometime this year, despite it being an “immediate priority” when the Government came to office 14 months ago.

The Department of Internal Affairs confirmed to the Herald that it “intends to make decisions in 2025 regarding replacement vehicles in the Crown fleet and anticipates introducing new vehicles into the fleet later in 2025”.

The Briefing to the Incoming Minister document provided to Christopher Luxon, the Minister responsible for ministerial services, in November 2023 referred to the replacement of the Class 1 sedans as an “immediate priority”.

The vehicles, used to drive Ministers and other dignitaries between events and meetings, “have been in operation since 2016 and have now reached end of life”, the 2023 briefing said.

It explained the replacement process started in 2021 but was delayed due to supply chain issues caused by Covid-19 and geopolitical issues, which “impacted the production of electric vehicles and restricted the availability of suitable options in the New Zealand market”.

Part of the department’s strategy for modernising the fleet has been to replace vehicles with electric options.

“In March 2023, the department completed a market engagement and evaluation process, which identified suitable electric models to replace the current Class 1 vehicles,” the briefing said.

Prime Minister Christopher Luxon received a briefing about the vehicles over a year ago. Photo / Mark Mitchell

The department also wanted to ensure the fleet could maintain “operational resilience in extreme weather events that may disrupt electricity supplies” following Cyclone Gabrielle.

“We will provide you with options and advice on the procurement approach and timeframes for replacing the Class 1 vehicles into the Crown fleet,” the briefing told Luxon.

The department didn’t say why decisions hadn’t been made yet. It would deliver a report to Luxon once it had made those decisions.

“The purchase of any vehicles enables the department to consider customer needs alongside the number, type, costs of any purchases, recognising the current fiscal climate. These are operational decisions made by the department.”

It would not provide information about what vehicle models or suppliers were being considered prior to decisions being made.

All vehicles in the fleet were subject to regular maintenance, servicing and replacements, and the department regularly considered the type and number of vehicles that needed to be replaced, it said.

As well as having access to the Crown fleet vehicles, Ministers were allowed self-drive cars. The Herald reported at the start of last year that Luxon had cut the cap on the ministerial self-drive cars from $85,000 to $70,000.

In December, the Herald revealed there had been eight instances of self-drive vehicles receiving speeding tickets since the Government had formed, while three Crown cars had received infringements during that period.

A Crown vehicle carrying Luxon and Finance Minister Nicola Willis was hit by a police car in November. The “minor nose-to-tail collision” happened in Wellington and no one was injured.

Jamie Ensor is a political reporter in the NZ Herald Press Gallery team based at Parliament. He was previously a TV reporter and digital producer in the Newshub Press Gallery office.