Fresh incentives for electric vehicles to be considered by Cabinet

Tuesday, 22 January 2019

The number of EVs in New Zealand is growing, but not fast enough, says Drive Electric.

New incentives to encourage people to switch to electric vehicles will be considered by Cabinet, Associate Transport Minister Julie Anne Genter says.

Genter said she recognised extra measures were needed to make EVs more affordable and to ensure Kiwis had access to the same models of electric and low emission vehicles that were sold overseas.

'Electric vehicles are a triple win for New Zealand – they're cheap to run, they cut our dependence on imported oil, and eliminate climate-damaging pollution,' Genter said.

'I intend to take a number of electric vehicle policies options to Cabinet early this year.'

Buyers of second-hand EVs could get more peace of mind through a VTNZ initiative that will receive government funding.

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Genter made the comments after industry lobby group Drive Electric warned New Zealand had little hope of meeting the target set by the previous government of having 64,000 electric vehicles on the road by 2021.

Drive Electric chairman Mark Gilbert said the Government should remove fringe benefit tax on electric vehicles (EVs), at least temporarily.

That would encourage more corporates to switch their fleet vehicles to EVs, he said.

Progress had been made over the past five years, with the number of EVs now standing at 12,000, but the Government should signal its intentions more clearly, he said.

'The question is where do we go from here? At almost 12,000 EVs on the road, there's no chance of getting to 64,000 vehicles without additional political will.'

Energy Minister Megan Woods announced up to $4.3 million in new funding for 31 initiatives to promote the uptake of EVs through its Low Emission Vehicles Contestable Fund – matched by $7.3m from the private sector to total more than $11m.

'This is by far the biggest round of new projects delivered by the fund,' she said.

'Each previous round has given the green light to between 14 and 18 projects. In total, the fund has committed $17.2 million in government funding to 93 projects.'

VTNZ will receive funding to test the reliability and affordability of a method for testing the condition of EV batteries which it hopes will 'advance the knowledge and skills needed to develop an EV battery servicing market in New Zealand'.

The test would provide buyers of second-hand electric vehicles 'confidence in the battery condition and life expectancy' of EV batteries, it said.

Other new initiatives include support for more charging stations, including at supermarkets, and subsidies for a variety of specialist commercial EVs such as an electric rubbish truck that will be used in Wellington.

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