Hyundai NZ boss: Euro 6 could cripple industry
Wednesday, 4 August 2021
This article was first published on MotoringNZ.com.
Several legislative amendments tied to the Government’s push to clean up vehicle emissions might be impossible to enact in the cited timeframes, will be costly for consumers and also disrupt vehicle supply, a leading motor industry figure contends.
While confident having a healthy count of compliant cars will give his own brand a good chance as Government’s intended vehicles emissions ambition under the Clean Cars mantle continues to realise, Hyundai New Zealand boss Andy Sinclair has misgivings about the overall impact of some Beehive intention.
The Clean Car legislation that kicked off in July with rebates for electric and plug-in hybrid cars will also penalise high emission models, with ultimate aim of pushing them out.
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Intent to penalise vehicles that emit more than 192 grams per kilometre of CO2 – the so-called ‘ute tax’ because it particularly impacts on the one-tonne utilities that have been hugely popular - gets fully serious in 2023 with the Clean Car Standard.
Prior to this, though, another Beehive action appears afoot; adoption of Europe’s latest emissions standard, EU6, that is far more rigorous than EU5, the current standard.
The car industry understands Government intends to enact EU6 in 2022, perhaps as early as January 1 – that action is years too soon for NZ and, if it does happen, will be instantly and hugely disruptive, Sinclair says.
“We’ve told them clearly that this will not work.
“If they bring that in it will have massive effect on availability of vehicles and cost … there would be massive supply constraints, and it could possibly cripple the industry at the start of 2022.”
The reason is that many manufacturers prefer, for expedience, to avail New Zealand with vehicles configured to meet standards set in Australia, where there no intent to introduce EU6 before 2024 at earliest.
“Manufacturers are not ready to bring into NZ Euro 6 vehicles. Euro 6 is far more expensive and demand (for those models) in Europe is huge, and we would have massive supply constraints.”
Hyundai NZ had chosen to source the latest Tucson from a plant in the Czech Republic, rather than from South Korea (as Australia has done), so it can secure the battery-assisted cars. It is also selling a Europe market 1.6-litre diesel in preference to the 2.0-litre that South Korea would have provided, because the smaller unit’s emissions avoid a Clean Car penalty that would hit the larger engine.
Sinclair says Hyundai will benefit because Clean Car is already working to encourage buy-in of electric cars and his brand has the biggest rebate-eligible choice of those.
He has no doubt that when the Clean Car Standard engages, vehicle prices will rise.
“Effectively it is a second penalty for high-emission vehicles as they are already going to be hit by the Clean Car discount and then by the Clean Car Standard.
“It is my belief we will be the only country in the world that has done both in the same time.”