VIA makes plea over CCS fees
The Imported Motor Vehicle Industry Association (VIA) is calling for looming extra costs associated with the clean car standard (CCS) to be applied when a vehicle is registered.
Its comments come after Parliament last week passed the Land Transport (Clean Vehicle Standard) Amendment Bill, which will move the scheme to a user-pays model from next year.
Greig Epps, VIA chief executive, says the new legislation impacts the cost structure of importing vehicles and will affect importers and consumers.
“While VIA supports the principle of user-pays, we believe these costs should be transparently charged at the point of sale,” he adds.
This approach would prevent what he describes as potential misperceptions about the actual price benefits received by suppliers and ensure consumers are aware of the costs involved.
The amendment bill also allows the government to change the carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions targets for imported vehicles through regulation rather than those goals being fixed in primary legislation.
Epps, pictured, notes this will enable quicker adjustments in response to technological advances and market conditions.
“This flexibility helps the industry adapt more dynamically to global and local changes,” he says.
However, VIA also cautions the scheme’s new flexibility could lead to reduced ambition in decarbonisation efforts without sufficient public dialogue or industry consultation.
Targets may in the future be rapidly changed by governments, impacting market stability and industry preparation.
In a response to the legislative changes, VIA has reiterated its concerns about the weight adjustment mechanism in the CCS, which it says disproportionately benefits larger, less efficient vehicles.
Epps says: “This system effectively causes smaller, more efficient vehicles to subsidise the environmental impact of larger ones.
“VIA advocates for removing the CCS weight adjustment so that we can more genuinely support New Zealand’s sustainability goals.”
With the new laws adding to the increasing costs of vehicle importation, the association wants to see a review of the entry certification process for used vehicles, “which is often burdened by unclear guidelines and punitive oversight”.
“A more streamlined and educative approach to vehicle inspections would reduce unnecessary costs and delays, benefiting the entire importation sector and ultimately the consumers,” explains Epps.
VIA says amid the changes to policies and regulations it remains committed to engaging with government stakeholders to ensure any new rules align with industry viability and the country’s environmental goals.
