National sets end date for feebates
The National Party has promised to axe the clean car discount (CCD) before the end of this year, if it is elected to form the next government.
Leader Christopher Luxon finally put a date on his party’s pledge to kill the feebates scheme as the party announced plans to “supercharge electric vehicle (EV) infrastructure”.
National has described the CCD as a ute tax that “taxes working New Zealanders to subsidise relatively well-off people to buy EVs”.
They say the policy is unfair because it adds to the cost of vehicles, such as utes and vans, used by farmers and tradies for their work in order to subsidise the cost of zero-emitters.
“When the government introduced the ute tax and EV subsidy scheme, they claimed it would be revenue-neutral, with money raised from the tax covering the cost of EV subsidies,” National says in a statement.
“In reality, this scheme has been incredibly expensive, requiring taxpayers to provide $281 million in loans to NZTA to cover the cost of EV subsidies.
“The Ministry of Transport has admitted the ute tax and EV subsidy scheme is fiscally unsustainable, meaning it will continue to require ongoing taxpayer funding.
“National will end this unnecessary, regressive, and fiscally irresponsible scheme by December 31, 2023.”
The party adds it will keep the clean car standard in place, which aims to influence the vehicles being brought into the country by importers and dealers, but is likely to tweak its settings.
National explains carmakers are working at pace to replace petrol and diesel vehicle line-ups with electric alternatives as they respond to consumer demand.
“To continue to encourage the supply of low and no-emission vehicles to New Zealand, National will retain the clean car importer standard and work with the industry to ensure the standard is set at an achievable level,” the party says.
“We will, however, exempt disability vehicles from these regulations to ensure New Zealanders with a disability can access the specialised vehicles they depend on without facing increased costs.”
Charging boost
National has also pledged to invest $257 million over four years to deliver a network of 10,000 EV chargers – nearly 10 times the current number.
Luxon says with about 20 per cent of New Zealand’s total emissions coming from transport, “embracing EVs is crucial to delivering our climate change commitments”.
“However, Kiwis won’t switch to an EV if they are anxious about whether they will be able to recharge it when and where they need to,” he adds. “Accelerating the rollout of EV infrastructure, from the 1,200 currently available to 10,000 in 2030, will give more Kiwis the confidence to make the switch to electric.”
National also announced on September 6 that it will eliminate the need for resource consents for EV charging points to reduce up-front costs and revive the funding model used to deliver ultra-fast broadband across the country in order to support expanding the charging network.
