Clean car policy saving New Zealanders $115m in fuel bills

The Government is trying to incentivise EV uptake

Electric car makers reckon the government’s Clean Car Discount is saving new Zealanders $115 million a year in fuel bills.

The analysis comes as the Government considers making changes to the policy which takes as much as $8625 off the price of a new clean vehicle - a discount paid for by levies of up to $5175 on the price of a polluting car.

This is because the levies on polluting cars are not covering the cost of rebates on clean cars.

Transport Minister Michael Wood said the “Clean Car Discount, as I think is well known, has been going exceptionally well”.

“We’ve got information from Drive Electric which shows it’s been saving Kiwis $100 million in fuel over the last year because more efficient vehicles mean that people are able to drive with less fuel because it’s been very successful,” Wood said.

Wood said the Government would be looking at what it could do to the scheme to make sure it was “sustainable into future years”.

An announcement on changes to the scheme is expected in weeks.

The analysis is from Drive Electric, a group representing EV manufacturers, power companies, and other firms in the EV sector and is based on the fact that cars imported since the scheme began are on average 12 per cent more fuel efficient than vehicles imported prior to the policy taking effect.

Driving an average of 10,500km a year, this adds up to about 105l saved per vehicle.

Drive Electric released the analysis as it released an election manifesto of policies it would like to see to encourage EV uptake.

Drive Electric chairman Mark Gilbert said moving to “electric vehicles as quickly as possible is the right move for the environment and the economy”.

“It is one of the most cost-effective ways to cut our greenhouse emissions, because it reduces the $9b a year New Zealand spends importing oil products from overseas,” he said.

“Drive Electric’s election manifesto calls on political parties to push forward with more bold policies for the decarbonisation of transport. While EV registrations have picked up dramatically, they still only comprise less than 2 per cent of the fleet. There’s much more to be done.”

The group wanted the Government to set targets and plans for the uptake of all forms of e-mobility including commercial vehicles and things like e-bikes.

The manifesto recommended the Government look at policies that would encourage mobility as a service companies and install new charging infrastructure.

Gilbert said New Zealand had to “invest in private and public charging infrastructure in New Zealand. There are a range of companies in the market wanting to invest, but there are barriers that need to be addressed immediately”.