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NZ’s electric car sales dropped 70% last year while global sales rose, but the Transport Minister says his policies aren’t to blame
As Marc Daalder wrote:
Perhaps the supply problem is a reflection of that second issue Bishop cited: low demand. Why would an automaker send EVs to New Zealand if no one will buy them and they’ll be sold cut-price, potentially at a loss?
In 2023, New Zealand was among the world’s leading adopters of electric vehicles. But in 2024, it saw the second steepest decline in year-on-year EV sales – a 70 percent decrease, compared with the global average of a 15.6 percent increase in sales.
The cause for this is clear. The motor industry has repeatedly pointed to the Government’s decision to axe the Clean Car Discount – which placed fees on higher-emitting vehicles at the point of sale to fund rebates for EVs and some hybrids – as the cause of the collapse of New Zealand’s electric car market.
Had EV uptake in New Zealand simply continued at its 2023 rate, 30,000 more EVs would have been registered here – a 25 percent increase in the total size of the electric fleet. And that’s just if the adoption rate was flat, not growing like it has elsewhere in the world.
New South Wales gets the memo about the importance of finance and announces scheme offering zero interest loans to households to upgrade to electric stuff; plug-in solar gets the tick of approval to go on sale in the UK soon and the New York Times says it could 'change America'; EVolocity takes electrification to the streets to gets the kids inspired (and eventually employed); a tour of the amazing recycling business Redwood Materials; Think Solar and BYD give it away now; and a skit that cuts close to the bone for many solar dads.
Read moreDownloadAdvances in technology and falling costs mean customer-owned solar and batteries can play a critical role in New Zealand’s energy infrastructure - improving affordability, resilience and sustainability. Multiple trading relationships (MTR) and peer-to-peer trading would enable this potential by increasing competition, customer choice, and innovation in the electricity market, unlocking greater consumer benefits from customer solar and batteries.
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