We know that both these policies work. EV sales have gone through the roof – 60% of all new passenger cars sold in August were electric or hybrid, currently one of the fastest uptake rates in the world, and new vehicle CO2 emissions have reduced by 31% since the scheme started.

Right now, we’re facing a climate crisis, and it’s important that New Zealand continues moving towards more sustainable transport options. We shouldn’t put the handbrake on this progress by scrapping these proven policies.

The Clean Car Discount policy is a government programme that gives you back money when buying a low or zero-emission car. The more emissions your car produces, the less money you get back.

The policy is funded by a surcharge placed on imported vehicles that have high emissions, therefore contributing to the climate crisis. This means there is no cost to the government or the taxpayer to run the Clean Car Discount.

To be eligible for the discount, your car must be new or used, imported and registered in New Zealand for the first time. It must also be a light vehicle, such as a car, SUV, or van.

The Clean Car Discount policy is designed to make it easier for people to switch to cleaner vehicles and help New Zealand reduce its transport emissions.

You can read about it on the NZTA website here.

The Clean Car Standard is a government policy designed to help reduce New Zealand’s transport emissions, by encouraging importers to bring in more low-emission vehicles. The standard means it’s more expensive for importers to bring in high-emission vehicles and cheaper for them to bring in low-emission vehicles.

The policy is expected to reduce transport emissions by around 4.5 million tonnes of CO2 per year by 2030. It also helps to make cleaner cars more affordable and accessible to consumers.

You can read about it on the NZTA website here.

You can find out where the parties stand on these policies by checking out our scorecard.

The Better NZ Trust is a community of drivers, enthusiasts, and advocates who are helping to accelerate the shift to electric vehicles in New Zealand by sharing knowledge and passion through public events and outreach. You can find out more here.

If you’d like to help us persuade the main parties to do the right thing, you can donate here.

If you can’t donate right now, there are plenty of other ways you can get involved! Sign up for campaign updates, share our scorecard with friends and family, or check out our social media.

More places to charge will always be welcome. It is true that the rapid uptake of EVs over the past few years has placed a strain on the fast-growing charging network.

But any comparison to the number of petrol stations is not valid, because 95% of EV charging can be done at home, while you sleep, with low-cost electricity. 

Chargers are mainly required when people take long trips. Problems could occur during holiday periods when a lot of people are travelling, but this issue applies to petrol stops as well.

The good news is that ChargeNet started building a country-wide network several years ago, and now, many companies are jumping on the bandwagon. This includes BP, who clearly sees demand for EV charging is going to grow.

You can see all the charging stations currently operating in New Zealand on this website or by downloading the PlugShare app to your phone.

No, it is not the case that EVs are charged using electricity from coal. The fact is most EV charging is done overnight during the off-peak power period. Overnight rates are cheaper than daytime rates because there is usually excess generation in the evening.

One reason New Zealand still has coal and gas power generation is to level out the supply versus demand and handle the peaks.

Besides, it is more efficient to generate electricity in a large generator and use it in an electric motor than to burn petrol. That is how a diesel locomotive works efficiently.

You might be able to find the answer to your question here.