Stock woes as EV sales slump

Dealers have “drastically reduced” sticker prices for electric vehicles (EVs) as they battle with excess stock and sluggish sales, according to the Motor Industry Association (MIA).

Aimee Wiley, chief executive, says battery electric vehicles (BEVs) and plug-in hybrids (PHEVs) account for one in every 11 new light passenger vehicles sold so far this year, as opposed to one in four between January and August last year.

The drop in activity has been pronounced since the government scrapped the clean car discount at the end of 2023 and introduced road user charges for EVs from the start of April.

Wiley, pictured, says the change has left some importers and dealers with too many cars.

“They've been forced to drastically reduce EV prices, making them the cheapest they've ever been in New Zealand,” she told RNZ

Sales are still slow despite substantial discounts being offered by dealers, but Wiley adds the industry expects demand for EVs to recover in time.

She notes the current drop may be due to a change in government messaging around low-emissions vehicles and their role in protecting the environment, as much as changes to the incentives and charges they involved, reports RNZ.

While consumer appetite for BEVs and PHEVs has been tempered of late, industry associations and economic experts report that conventional hybrids have maintained their market share. 

Greig Epps, chief executive officer of the Imported Motor Vehicle Industry Association, told Newstalk ZB on September 16 that hybrid sales for members continue to be strong.

“About 43 to 45 per cent of the used imports that we’re bringing in this year have been hybrids,” he says. 

“Hybrids are a really solid technology … they reduce carbon output by about half of a normal vehicle.

“EVs are a great solution for the future but the world wasn’t ready to supply us EVs at a cost New Zealand could afford.”