Scrappage scheme splits dealers
Electric vehicle (EV) dealers are split on the merits of a scrappage scheme to encourage people to buy zero-emission cars instead of those that run on petrol or diesel.
Motorists in the UK may soon be given £6,000 (NZ$11,570) by the government if they agree to ditch their existing internal combustion vehicles and go electric instead.
The plans are expected to be announced in early July and form part of Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s push to relaunch the economy in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.
If given the go-ahead, the price of a British-built Nissan Leaf will fall from £26,845 to just £20,845, Tesla’s cheapest Model 3 would drop from about £40,000 to £34,000, and a new VW ID.3 zero-emission hatchback will cost about the same as an entry-level, petrol-powered Golf.
Henry Schmidt, owner of Autolink Cars in Grey Lynn, Auckland, describes the proposals as a “very good incentive” to buy EVs. He would like to see a similar scheme in this country but doubts anything will happen until next year at the earliest.
“I think the car industry totally supports such subsidies but our government, which has talked about doing something, is not going ahead with it for some unknown reason,” says Schmidt, pictured right.
“I can see no downside to a policy [like the UK’s] because the money would go into buying a new or used car. Most of the old cars on our roads are driven by people in the low-income bracket and this will help them to get an EV or hybrid, so it’s a good policy and they should just do it.”
However, Dave Boot, owner of EV City in Christchurch, is more wary about the benefits of such as scrappage scheme for the New Zealand market. He says if a similar offer is made available to motorists here in the near future, it would likely lead to stock shortages, increasing prices and risk customer dissatisfaction.
“Until there’s more supply and options here, putting pressure on people to buy electric cars through big discounts is not going to help – it’s just not the right way of doing it,” Boot, pictured left, explains.
“We want people to go electric. But the consultation process is key so people understand what the battery can do – its range and limitations. To put pressure on the market will likely lead to less-informed consultations as more dealers rush to sell EVs. In turn, that risks having upset customers saying they don’t work for them.
“Selling customers the cheapest EV that doesn’t meet their needs may, in the short term, produce a decline in the market if there’s bad information being handed out and people start complaining.”
Expanding range key
Boot does see merit in taking a long-term approach to incentivising the production and sales of EVs. For example, he praises the UK’s plans to ban the sale of new petrol, diesel and hybrid vehicles from 2035 in its push to emit virtually zero carbon by 2050.
He remains cautious as to when a similar approach could happen in New Zealand due to the range of models necessary to encourage motorists to pick EVs over other vehicles with internal combustion engines.
“The UK is sending the right message and has the population to give manufacturers a two-car cycle to build EVs,” he says. “In 10 or 15 years, they will have got a range of EVs on the market over there.
“For New Zealand, the problem is there’s not the supply or range of vehicles at present. Every manufacturer is building electric cars, but we need the whole range to be catered for and in reasonable numbers before we prod everyone into buying them.
“EV dealers who do a nice job already struggle to buy the right amount of the right stock, so it will become harder for us to do our job if the government throws thousands of dollars at a market that’s not ready yet. We don’t have electric cars sitting around desperate to be sold, things need to naturally progress in a gentler way.”
Seeking instant change
Schmidt, who has been selling only EVs and hybrids for the past six years, says New Zealand needs to find ways to encourage people to buy such cars if it wants to maintain its green image.
He is keen to see a scrappage scheme targeting all-electric cars but urges politicians to introduce one instantly rather than make an announcement long before any policy is introduced.
“New Zealand has no great incentives around electric vehicles. It’s amazing because we want people to change but the government has done nothing around that in the past three years,” he adds.
“We push ourselves as being a green country, but we’re not always very green with our policies. If we can copy the UK’s scheme that would be a good idea.
“I’m begging this government to not just talk about it but surprise us and make these changes instantly. It’s no good announcing measures such as this and delaying their introduction by two months because people won’t buy electric cars in that interim time. It’s better to introduce such policies straight away.”
