CCS review nears completion
The Ministry of Transport (MoT) hopes to complete its review of the clean car standard (CCS) and have advice on any possible changes to targets for vehicle imports with the government by the end of June.
Simeon Brown, Minister of Transport, ordered a review of the scheme in January after saying the CCS needs to deliver available and affordable vehicles to the New Zealand market while reducing emissions of the light fleet.
The CCS came into force in January 2023. Under it, importers incur a credit or charge for new and used light vehicles brought into the country based on their carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions.
Annual targets for passenger and commercial vehicles are set in legislation until 2027, but many in the automotive industry have voiced concerns the rate at which those figures decrease each year is too steep
Under current legislation, the CO2 targets are set to next change on January 1, 2025.
A MoT spokesperson says officials are preparing advice on the CCS for the minister. Details of the findings and recommendations are expected to be shared with the public and industry stakeholders later this year.
“We have been considering existing targets and policy design, and have been reviewing domestic and international statistics,” they told Autofile.
“The minister will need to choose between keeping the status quo, or take a proposal to cabinet to vary the targets and or the design of the policy in some way. The ministry is aiming to provide advice to the minister in the first half of this year.”
The spokesperson adds the MoT has been engaging with key stakeholders in the industry over the matter in recent months. However, it remains to be seen whether there will be a public consultation over potential amendments to the rules.
“Vehicle industry consultation is already under way,” they explain. “Broader public input would depend on future choices, for example, whether legislative changes are needed and whether those go to select committee or not.”
As part of the review, the MoT is required to consider a number of matters set out in the Land Transport Act. These include the anticipated impact of targets on vehicle CO2 emissions, car safety, and the affordability and availability of models.
They must also look at the levels of ambition of other jurisdictions, in terms of their existing and proposed CO2 emissions targets, and any other matter the minister considers relevant in carrying out the review.
The Motor Industry Association and Imported Motor Vehicle Industry Association welcomed Brown’s decision to start a review of the CCS ahead of a mandated June deadline after both called for a rethink of the scheme’s settings.
The coalition government supports the CCS but axed the clean car discount at the end of 2023 after it introduced in by the previous Labour administration as part of an effort to transition the light fleet to low-emissions models.
