Weaker targets to hit EV fleet

Up to 58,000 fewer electric vehicles (EVs) will be on New Zealand’s roads by 2035 after the decision to lower emissions targets under the clean car standard (CCS), according to government modelling.

Figures sourced from the Ministry of Transport (MoT) by the Better NZ Trust, which is a member of the Global EV Alliance, suggest the total will consist of 39,000 battery electric vehicles (BEVs) and 19,000 plug-in hybrids (PHEVs).

The data is part of modelling officials prepared before the government decided in July to ease the CCS settings and start aligning the rules for light vehicle importers with Australia’s standards from 2025, reports RNZ.

The MoT advised the coalition to soften the emissions targets after automotive industry associations warned the original goals were unachievable and would not deliver the benefits politicians hoped for.

Kathryn Trounson, chair of Better NZ Trust, told RNZ the ministry’s figures show the change will have a substantial impact on the light-vehicle fleet and the environment.

“Sixty thousand fewer low-emissions vehicles and two megatonnes more emissions, we just can't afford that,” she adds.

“Suggesting nobody wants to bring EVs to this part of the world is just a nonsense.”

MoT officials noted a revised CCS would still save more than nine million tonnes of emissions from vehicles between now and 2050.