Different treatment for used cars
The Imported Motor Vehicle Industry Association (VIA) has welcomed the coalition recognising used imports need to be treated differently from new vehicles under the next phase of the clean vehicle standard (CVS).
The government has confirmed it will retain the scheme. But it will develop different emissions targets for used-vehicle imports, reflecting the older technology and different supply conditions applying to the sector.
Greig Epps, pictured, VIA’s chief executive, believes this is an important acknowledgement of a problem the association has raised consistently.
“New Zealand doesn’t have one vehicle-supply market,” he says. “New-vehicle distributors source current production from global manufacturers, while used importers are sourcing vehicles manufactured years earlier, predominantly from Japan’s domestic market.
“Applying essentially the same emissions trajectory to those two different supply channels was never going to produce a sustainable outcome.”
VIA would have preferred the used-imports sector to be excluded from the CVS, but has indicated it’s willing to work constructively on a mechanism to encourage the progressive improvement of vehicles entering New Zealand’s fleet.
Epps says the government’s decision creates an opportunity to design a system that better reflects the realities of this country’s market.
“The principle is important, but the detail will determine whether this works. Any new target for used imports needs to start with vehicles available from Japan and prices New Zealand households can afford.
“Regulation cannot manufacture vehicles that don’t exist in the source market, and it shouldn’t make newer, safer and lower-emitting vehicles less affordable.”
VIA will also be seeking changes to the way credits operate for used imports. “A sustainable system needs to provide a genuine pathway for used importers to generate or access credits.
“Simply reducing the size of the penalty doesn’t resolve the structural problem if the sector remains permanently in deficit.”
The association has consistently argued affordability and fleet turnover need to be considered alongside emissions performance.
If regulation increases the cost of replacement vehicles, households are more likely to retain older models for longer, slowing the introduction of newer ones with better fuel economy, lower emissions and improved safety technology.
Officials will now work with industry on the detailed settings, with the government intending the revised arrangements to take effect from January 1, 2028.
“This is a useful reset,” says Epps. “VIA will engage closely with officials to ensure the next version of the standard is achievable, recognises the role of used imports in our transport system and supports rather than obstructs renewal of the national fleet.”
