New Zealand marks 5,850 EV sales so far in 2021

New Zealand’s electric vehicle registrations hit a total percentage of 6.45% last month, which is triple the first-half-2021 average. Accounting for only new passenger vehicles, the number rises to a total of 11.8% electric vehicle registrations.

That is a percentage of EV including PHEV registrations and considers all vehicles including used imports and both passenger and commercial segments up to 3.5 tonnes.

The uptick in electric vehicle sales follows the introduction of an EV subsidy scheme, that was introduced in June and took effect on 01 July.  The subsidy programme incentivises the purchase of new BEVs or PHEVs with a sum of 8,625 New Zealand dollars (around 5,100 euros) and used EVs (both BEVs and PHEVs again) receive funding of up to 3,450 NZ dollars (about 2,000 euros). The subsidy programme only applies to vehicles costing less than list prices of $80,000. The programme will also eventually be extended to include ‘low-emission vehicles’ at the end of the year. These vehicles are defined by their emissions, specifically that they emit less than 146 grams of CO2 per kilometre on the 3-phase WLTP test, which includes most hybrids and some very efficient petrol cars, according to ministry officials talking to electrive.

This is not the only instance of New Zealand’s government attempting to improve their climate footprint, as the subsidy programme was accompanied by a charging infrastructure expansion, which aims to set up “charging stations on average every 75 kilometres along most state highways”. Additionally, another 22 emissions-free transport projects were funded early this year.

Info via email, transport.govt.nz