July 6: New Zealand is generally moving in the right direction when it comes to electrification, with broad support for long-term finance for electric upgrades, a review of solar red tape, proposed changes to planning rules, and Fringe Benefit Tax tweaks that make EVs more appealing. But Rewiring Aotearoa says we would go backwards on transport without the Clean Car Standard, which regulates importers to reduce emissions to specific targets. 

“We could put the foot down on EV adoption by retaining the standard,” says Rewiring Aotearoa CEO Mike Casey. “Or we could shoot ourselves in the foot by removing it.” 

The demand for EVs is growing rapidly and sales data for June showed full EVs made up over 20% of all new car sales, an increase of over 150% on the same time last year.

“If we hope to meet our growing demand, we need to maintain the confidence of these manufacturers with stable policy settings. New Zealand is currently getting a good supply of electric vehicles, but we can’t take that for granted. Many of the brands are struggling to keep up with demand as it is. If supply is curtailed because our standards are weakened, that will be a wasted opportunity to reduce our reliance on expensive imported energy and help New Zealanders save over time.”

Some vehicle importers and legacy brands have raised the issue of ‘affordability’ to enable them to continue to import inefficient vehicles. 

“It’s a false economy,” says Casey. “Their argument is that these inefficient vehicles cost less upfront, but they will cost New Zealanders much more over the vehicle’s lifetime. Instead of allowing old technology in, we should be working on ways to help more New Zealanders access newer technology and that often comes down to better finance schemes.”

New Zealand spends more importing fuel each year than it does importing cars. Over a 20 year lifetime, a car owner might spend $40,000 on the fuel needed to run it, and more for those who drive further than average.

“The companies arguing for a weakening of the standard will benefit from this because their business model relies on it. It will also put us in dubious company, with Russia the only other OECD country with no emissions standards. At the very least, we should keep the existing Clean Car Standard in place and hope that other parties push for stronger standards as we build up to the ‘electric election’.”

BYD New Zealand’s general manager Warren Willmot agrees. 

“The Clean Car Standard is delivering exactly what was intended: it has forced global manufacturers to restructure their pipelines and prioritise New Zealand for their latest models. We are seeing unprecedented model availability because of these targets. To change them now would be to ignore the fact that the policy is already working to secure our place in the global shift toward cleaner transport.” 

He says we must ensure New Zealand doesn't become a dumping ground for older, higher-emitting technology. 

“When our standards are weaker than those of our neighbours, we inevitably receive the less efficient versions of vehicles while other countries get the best. The current standard is driving innovation and reducing fleet emissions; weakening it only serves to protect strategic choices that have failed to keep pace with the transition.” 

Willmot believes there are other supporting policies that could benefit a range of households.

“To complement the existing standard, introducing a salary sacrifice scheme would be a genuine game-changer for Kiwi households. International evidence shows that allowing people to use their pre-tax salary to purchase an electric vehicle is incredibly successful, with the greatest benefits flowing to households earning between $50,000 and $95,000. This is how we make the transition to cleaner transport truly equitable.” 

Dane Fisher, group general manager of Giltrap Group’s NordEast vehicle distributors, says the company supports the Clean Car Standard remaining in place. 

“The priority is to refine and strengthen the framework, rather than replace it. A framework that combines realistic supply settings with strong, visible demand-side incentives will accelerate low-emission vehicle uptake, maintain affordability and market momentum and support New Zealand’s position with global OEMs. The greatest opportunity for improvement is now on the demand side.”

NordEast advocates for the introduction of an emissions-based Fringe Benefit Tax framework to reduce the total cost of ownership of low emission vehicles, supported by Road User Charge differentiation, urban access incentives, and charging infrastructure investment.

Transport Minister Chris Bishop, who we interviewed recently as part of our Political Power series, is an early EV adopter and, as he said at a press conference discussing the proposal last year: “I love EVs. We’re a two EV family. They make sense and ultimately, over time, they will be good for New Zealand, and the running costs of them are lower. They’re good. They’re fun to drive and for a country like New Zealand with 85 percent renewable electricity, they make a huge amount of sense.” 

Casey says almost everyone who buys an EV would buy another one and would never go back to an internal combustion engine. Under the current settings, those who still want a petrol or diesel car will get more efficient versions, and the growing number of New Zealanders who want to run on cheaper local electrons will get more choice. 

At its heart, Casey says this is a battle between the past and the future. 

“It’s about having a fleet that either gets progressively newer, safer, cheaper and less polluting or more of the same - or, if the standards are weakened, worse than the same. As we’ve seen overseas, businesses tend to adapt to the settings imposed on them. You either change the products you’re offering to fit the market, you pay the fee to be able to sell an inefficient product, or you go out of business. Some incumbents have chosen not to adapt; that was their choice. We’re asking the Government to make the right call and support New Zealand’s priority position in the EV market, which will reduce our reliance on foreign sourced energy, strengthen our economy and lead to lower lifetime ownership costs for consumers.”

ENDS

For more information or to arrange an interview with Mike Casey, Warren Willmot or Dane Fisher, contact Ben Fahy at ben@rewiring.nz or 021 245 4894.

Rewiring Aotearoa is an independent charity working on energy, climate and electrification research, advocacy and education. The New Zealand-based team consists of energy, policy, communications and community outreach experts and it is funded by New Zealand-based philanthropists including Sir Stephen Tindall and Urs Hölzle. While we are selling the achievable dream of a more secure, resilient, productive, affordable and renewable energy system, we do not financially benefit from sales of solar, EVs or any of the electric technologies we advocate for.

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