Dropping clean car upgrade ‘no loss’
The Imported Motor Vehicle Industry Association (VIA) describes the axeing of the clean car upgrade by the government as “no loss” and is calling for officials to conduct a “proper strategic look at the fleet”.
Prime Minister Chris Hipkins has ditched the scheme as part of a policy bonfire that aims to redirect about $1 billion to help address the cost-of-living crisis and the recovery from Cyclone Gabrielle.
David Vinsen, VIA’s chief executive, says the decision comes as no surprise as work had barely started on the upgrade scheme to get people out of inefficient vehicles and into more efficient ones or onto public transport.
“The clean car upgrade was a trial scrappage scheme that was being introduced as a Band Aid-type proposal to attempt to fix the inherent inequities built into the clean car programme,” he adds.
“A team of people from NZTA was working on the upgrade but there had been no serious consultation about how it would work so the policy being dropped by the government is no real loss.
“Ultimately, it was a flawed policy on top of a flawed policy.”
With the clean car upgrade off the agenda, VIA suggests the government should conduct a thorough analysis of the fleet before launching any other major transport policies.
Vinsen, pictured, says that way more appropriate, longer-term measures can be developed as politicians seek to cut emissions and influence the types of vehicles on our roads.
“A proper fleet analysis and management strategy is what the country and the industry need,” he explains.
“We need to have a look at the fleet right now and get a good understanding of it and also work out how New Zealand wants the fleet to look in five or 10 years’ time.
“Once that is done, we can work out how we get from now to those points further down the line by looking at all the levers that could be pulled, such as incentives, penalties, scrappage schemes, inspections, standards and education.
“We can also have a proper plan that is longer than one electoral cycle, has cross-party support and involves industry’s input.
“It would be much better for everyone to have a clear strategy and work out what we’re going to do to achieve it over a long timeframe rather than schemes being dropped on us on an ad-hoc basis.”
