EV feebate plan winning support says minister, as submissions deadline approaches

Saturday, 17 August 2019

Dutchman Weibe Wakker was one of the latest high-profile visitor to Bluff's Stirling Point sign, completing a three-year journey in July last year from the Netherlands in his converted electric Volkswagon Golf named the 'The Blue Bandit'.

A feebate scheme that would transfer hundreds of millions of dollars from buyers of higher-emission cars into the pockets of people buying EVs and other more fuel-efficient vehicles has been winning favour with submitters, the Government says.

Associate Transport Minister Julie Anne Genter said about 80 per cent of the online responses the Transport Ministry had so far received in response to a discussion paper on the feebate scheme and an associated 'clean car standard' had supported the policies.

The plans are designed to reduce fuel consumption and curb greenhouse gas emissions, but National Party leader Simon Bridges has renewed his criticisms of the feebate scheme, which the party has dubbed an 'unfair car tax'.

A Transport Ministry spokesman said the feebate scheme as currently designed by the ministry was designed to be revenue-neutral, after Bridges voiced doubts and noted that had not been explicitly stated in a Cabinet paper outlining the scheme and which instead used the term 'self-funding'.

The plan to use feebates to reshape NZ's car fleet has proved divisive, but the Motor Industry Association has said it is 'the most powerful policy available' to influence car purchasing decisions.

* Government's electric vehicle policy a subsidy for unsafe cars - Nats

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'The scheme is designed to be revenue neutral, I can tell you that,' the ministry spokesman said. 'So the money paid in will be paid out in terms of rebates.'

Transport Ministry environment manager Glen-Marie Burns separately confirmed that any administration costs would be funded separately through the NZTA, with that again subject to Cabinet approval.

The Cabinet paper made it clear fees and rebates could be out of sync in any one year of the scheme, if people didn't buy the mix of cars forecast, but said a $25m float could be set up 'to manage the risk of over or under-fee collection from year to year'.

The ministry expected feebates would value about $200 million during the scheme's first year, which would be in 2021, though there have been calls for it to apply sooner.

The Government and the National Party appear to be anticipating different reactions from the public to the feebate plan.

Genter said it was 'great to see there's support for common sense action on climate change'.

'The public still have a few more days to have their say.

'Once consultation closes the Transport Ministry will begin analysing all submissions and recommendations made as part of the public consultation process,' she said.

'Most of us want to buy a car that's good for the environment, but the upfront cost and limited choice is a barrier. These policies will help fix that.'

A spokeswoman for Bridges said more than 12,000 people had signed a petition opposing the Government's proposals and the level of public engagement with the petition was among the highest National had seen.

Commenting before the Transport Ministry's assurance on revenue-neutrality of the scheme, Bridges said he did not believe it could be 'fiscally neutral' based on the numbers officials had provided to date – either that 'or the subsidy becomes incredibly high', he said.

National Party leader Simon Bridges has been concerned the rebates and fees won't match.

'You have so many people who have been buying utes and bigger cars that get the tax, and so few EVs particularly, that actually on the numbers they will end up with a sneaky tax grab.'

Bridges said National was 'very clear we believe in climate change' and understood practical steps were required.

'The point we have been making is if you are a 'mum or dad' with three young kids, you can't just move from a bigger car to a Suzuki Swift, or if you tradie or a farmer, likewise you don't have other viable options.'

Bridges believed alternative policies, such as retaining the exemption on road user charges for EVs, and National's 2017 target of making more than a third of the government car fleet electric by 2021 would 'potentially have more effect'.

The Motor Industry Association has said in a statement that it believes the feebate scheme is 'the most powerful policy available to this Government to influence car purchase decisions'.

However, it has expressed concern over the 'clean car standard' also being consulted on by the Government, which would force car importers to gradually reduce the average emissions of cars they imported to 105 grams of carbon dioxide per kilometre by 2025.

The MIA has said that could create 'a range of unintended outcomes such as people holding onto older less safe and more polluting cars longer than they would otherwise and it is also likely to lead to price increases for all new vehicles entering the market'.

In contrast, others such as Swedish EV policy expert Jakob Lagercrantz have described the target as possibly too conservative.

Submissions from the public on feebate scheme and clean car standard are due to close on Tuesday, though the MIA is reported to have gained an extension so it can consult more widely with organisations in Japan.