Plug-in electric vehicles in New Zealand

The initial adoption of plug-in electric vehicles in New Zealand was supported by New Zealand Government policies, including monetary incentives such as electric vehicle discounts, exemptions from road user charges, and electric vehicle sales targets.^[2][3][4][5] By 2023 year-end^[update], there were 106,942 registered plug-in electric vehicles in New Zealand, consisting of 76,550 battery-electric vehicles (BEV) and 30,392 plug-in hybrid vehicles (PHEV), together making up 2.2% of the national fleet of 4.8 million vehicles.^[6] In 2023, 27.2 percent of all new car registrations were plug-in electric vehicles.^[7]

The National-led government launched an Electric Vehicle Programme in May 2016 to encourage EV uptake.^[8] Electric vehicles in New Zealand were exempt from road user charges (RUC) from 2009 until 1 April 2024; RUC now apply at NZD $76 per 1000 km unit for BEVs, and $38 per 1000 km for PHEVs.^[9][10] EV owners were initially able to access bus lanes and preferential parking,^[4] but this was dropped after local authority bus operators and the general public raised concerns about public transport disruption. There are subsidies available for the installation of public EV chargers.^[11] New Zealand also proposed a "cash for clunkers" scheme, incentivising low-income drivers to trade their petrol or diesel cars for a discounted electric vehicle, but this scheme was abandoned in March 2023.^[12][13]

In July 2019, the government proposed a Clean Car Discount of up to NZD $8,000 on purchases of new zero-emissions vehicles, and a charge of up to $3,000 for new vehicles that emit more than 250g of carbon dioxide per kilometre.^[4] The Clean Car Discount was in effect from July 2021 to December 2023, with a used EV being subsidised up to $3,450 and a used PHEV up to $2,300.^[11] This scheme was ended by the newly elected government on 31 December 2023.^[14]

In 2022 the Government enacted a Clean Car Standard that would phase-in a stepped reduction in the average emissions of most new and used imported passenger vehicles to 145 grams per kilometre travelled in 2023, dropping to 63.3g/km in 2027, with financial penalties if the targets are not met.^[15] These targets would ensure New Zealand cleans the entire car fleet by 2027 and both achieves and surpasses the European Union's fuel efficiency targets.^[15] As well as setting CO₂ targets, the Clean Vehicles Act passed in February 2022 also imposed charges on the purchase of high CO₂ emission cars, which will accelerate electric vehicle adoption.^[16]

In 2021 the government set a target for 50% of all light vehicle registrations by 2029 to be electric vehicles, and 100% by 2035.^[17] The New Zealand Government will ban the sale and importation of petrol and diesel vehicles between 2035 and 2040.^[18][19][17] This is despite the Climate Change Commission recommending banning petrol and diesel cars by 2032.^[17] Higher parking fees, congestion charges and road pricing were also considered to increase EV adoption.^[19]

As of June 2023^[update], there are over 315 electric vehicle DC chargers across New Zealand at over 275 locations.^[20] Type 2 CCS and CHAdeMO are the standard connections for DC chargers in New Zealand; the former is mainly used by New Zealand-new vehicles while the latter is mainly used by used Japanese imports. As of December 2023^[update], around 67% of registered battery electric vehicles use the Type 2 CCS standard, while 33% use the CHAdeMO standard.^[21][22]

In April 2017, Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency set a vision of at least one rapid DC charger every 75 km (47 mi) across the state highway network. As of June 2023^[update], this is largely complete with some gaps in low-traffic and hard-to-reticulate areas: State Highway 43, State Highway 63, State Highway 7 over Lewis Pass, State Highway 6 over Haast Pass, and State Highway 94 to Milford Sound.^[23]

By the end of 2023, New Zealand electric vehicle registrations reached 27.2% of new car sales.^[7] This was an increase from electric vehicles representing 6.45% of new car sales at the beginning of the clean car subsidy programme in July 2021.^[2]

While sales of new electric vehicles have increased, the New Zealand EV fleet is dominated by second-hand Nissan Leafs imported from Japan. In December 2023 there were 23,067 registered Leafs, accounting for about 30 percent of all BEVs on New Zealand roads.^[24] About 95 percent of these were imported second-hand from Japan, a similarly left-hand traffic country, and a major source for New Zealand's second-hand car market. Japan's comparatively slow adoption of EVs, the Leaf being the only notable contribution before 2020, has strongly shaped adoption of EVs in New Zealand.^[25] Cheap second-hand Leaf imports from Japan proved so popular that Nissan didn't offer the Leaf as a new vehicle in New Zealand between 2016 and 2019, citing price pressure from importers and second-hand dealers.^[26]

In 2020 there were more EVs in New Zealand than in Australia, despite Australia having five times the population.^[5] By July 2023, Australia had overtaken New Zealand with a total fleet of about 130,000 EVs.^[27] 26,000 EVs were registered in New Zealand in 2020, and the government planned to have an additional 60,000 electric vehicles on New Zealand roads by 2023.^[5] However, in 2019, New Zealand planned to have 64,000 electric vehicles in the country by 2021 when it was projected New Zealand would reach 100% electric vehicle sales by 2030.^[3] In 2021, New Zealand planned to lead Asia by targeting 30,000 EVs to be sold in 2025, and to have the highest EV market share of new car sales by 2029.^[4] A target was also set for the light vehicle fleet to be 30% electric by 2035.^[12]