AUCKLAND, 3 November 2026: Political parties may differ on exactly how New Zealand should accelerate the shift to electric transport, but responses to a set of election questions from Drive Electric show important areas of common ground.

National, Labour, the Green Party and The Opportunity Party responded to five questions Drive Electric put to political parties ahead of the election which cover vehicle supply, affordability and demand, charging infrastructure, freight and renewable energy.

Drive Electric Chair Kirsten Corson says the responses show there is an opportunity for the next Government and Parliament to build greater long-term certainty around the transition.

“We did not expect every party to agree on every policy lever, and they don’t. What is encouraging is the level of alignment around the challenge and the need to move New Zealand towards more electric transport.”

“There is recognition that we need to address the affordability of making the switch, continue building charging infrastructure, remove barriers to electrifying commercial transport and ensure our electricity system can support growing demand.”

The questions followed an opinion piece by Drive Electric Chair Kirsten Corson, published by Newsroom on 22 October, which highlighted that New Zealand spent $12.1 billion importing petrol, diesel and other fuels in the year to July 2026, up $2.3 billion on the year before. That is about $33 million a day leaving the country, while 88.5 percent of our electricity is already generated from renewable sources here at home.

Corson says this makes transport electrification bigger than an environmental issue.

“This is about New Zealand’s economic resilience, energy security and the cost of moving people and goods around the country.

We currently send $12.1 billion offshore each year to buy transport fuel while producing predominantly renewable electricity here at home. Electrification gives us an opportunity to use more of our own energy and reduce our exposure to the volatility of international fuel prices and supply chains.”

“That opportunity will not be realised through industry or consumers acting alone. The government has an important role in creating stable policy settings, removing regulatory barriers and giving businesses and households the confidence to invest.”

Where is the common ground?

Drive Electric asked every party the same five questions:

1. Supply: How will you get more affordable electric vehicles, new and used, onto our shores?

2. Demand: How will you help households, businesses and fleets make the switch, especially those who would save the most but can least afford the upfront cost?

3. Infrastructure: What will you commit to charging, for cars and for trucks, and by when?

4. Freight: How will you help trucks and commercial fleets, which carry almost everything we buy, move off diesel?

5. Energy: How will you make sure there is enough renewable generation, and the networks to carry it, as transport electrifies?

The responses differ in their preferred mechanisms and level of government intervention, but Drive Electric says several common themes are apparent including improving access to electric transport, continuing investment in supporting infrastructure, addressing barriers to commercial and freight electrification, and ensuring sufficient electricity supply and network capacity.

"We asked every party the same five questions, and the engagement has been genuinely encouraging," says Kirsten Corson. "Parties from both sides of the House were engaged. They don't agree on every lever, but there's a real appetite to move faster. That's a strong place to start."

The parties' full answers are published on the Drive Electric website.

"None of this is left or right," says Corson. "Cutting a $12 billion import bill improves the trade balance, takes the cost out of freight and groceries, and strengthens our energy security. Every party that answered can see that. Whoever forms the next government, there's a foundation here to build on."

Our role at Drive Electric is to identify where progress can be made and the responses show there is enough common ground to have a serious conversation after the election about the policy settings New Zealand needs for the next decade - not simply the next three years.”

From common ground to long-term policy

Drive Electric's Manifesto 2026/2027 sets out a plan built on supply, demand and infrastructure policies working together. It follows the State of the Nation 2026 report, launched at Parliament on 20 May.

“No one policy will accelerate uptake on its own. New Zealand needs vehicles that are available and affordable, policy settings that make electric options commercially and financially attractive, and charging and electricity infrastructure capable of supporting the transition.”

Essential easy wins

Here are some of the easy wins Drive Electric are talking to the political parties about. Most are rule changes rather than new spending, and any government could start on them in its first term:

● Smart-ready chargers: pass the law so new home chargers can manage when they draw power, building on the Government's 2025 decision to regulate them.

● EV-ready buildings: update the Building Code so all new homes, and a share of new commercial developments are ready for charging.

● Government buys electric first: extend the existing EV-first rule to all government agencies, unless a business case shows otherwise.

● Electric trucks: allow extra axle weight for zero-emission trucks through NZTA's current review of vehicle weight and size rules, and extend the road user charge exemption for heavy trucks to 2032.

● Safer e-bikes and e-scooters: require certified batteries, with enforcement focused on online and direct imports.

● E-mopeds for commuting: extend the existing fringe benefit tax exemption for e-bikes and e-scooters to e-mopeds.

● Faster depreciation for commercial and heavy transport: give zero-emission commercial vehicles, heavy trucks and depot chargers a depreciation uplift on top of Investment Boost, with a 2030 sunset.

● 10,000 public chargers by 2030: keep the Government's target and its zero-interest loan scheme, with priority for regional and route gaps.

● Road user charges: bring the battery EV rate into line with the plug-in hybrid rate.

● EV Salary Boost: a capped fringe benefit tax exemption for employer-provided EVs, modelled on Australia's, with a 2030 sunset.

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“They're practical steps that every party that answered our questions could get behind. What we need now is a long-term plan that outlasts the next election," says Corson. "Investors and households can't plan around policy that flips every three years. The responses tell us the will is there.

“After 7 November, Drive Electric wants to work constructively with the new Government, opposition parties and industry to turn that common ground into policy settings that provide certainty and accelerate investment.

“The opportunity now is to move beyond debating whether transport should electrify and focus on creating the conditions that allow New Zealand to do it faster, more affordably and at scale.”

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