Agency ‘will work with industry’

Officials at Waka Kotahi are confident they can make the necessary changes to the clean car discount (CCD) as required by July 1.

Adjustments to the feebates scheme were announced by Michael Wood, Minister of Transport, on May 2. But they have attracted criticism from the car industry, which includes the planned roll-out now being less than two months away.

A spokesman for the transport agency told Autofile Online: “Waka Kotahi is currently working on implementation of the July 1 changes.

“This includes updating and supporting our systems and tools, including our information sources – and the Fuelsaver and Rightcar tools that importers and dealers use to obtain CCD fee and rebate estimates.

“Our priority is to make it as easy as possible for the vehicle industry and purchasers to understand the changes and impacts.”

Waka Kotahi is also aiming to provide dealers with calculation tools by mid to late May so they can establish what discounts and penalties under the feebates scheme will be come July 1. In the meantime, calculations can be made for future imports on a per-gram basis using its existing tables.

The transport agency adds it will “continue to work closely with industry in coming months” to ensure it has the information and support from Waka Kotahi it will need to ensure public awareness of the changes. 

“Systems that apply fees and deliver the online rebate applications and back-end assessment and payment processes will be updated to apply the new rates for vehicles registered from July 1.”

The changes to the CCD include the rebates limit for all imported light vehicles at the time of first registration in New Zealand dropping from 146g of carbon dioxide (CO2) per kilometre to 100g.

Fees will also apply to vehicles with emissions of 150gCO2/km or more, rather than starting at the current level of 192g.