Clean Cars Ngā Waka Mā

The Government has passed legislation repealing the Clean Car Discount scheme by 31 December 2023.

The Clean Car Discount started in 2021 to provide rebates and charges based on carbon emissions for new and used vehicle imports. Repealing the scheme means that:

• charges end for all vehicles registered after 11.59 pm on 31 December 2023
• rebate applications will also close after 11.59 pm on 31 December 2023.

The relevant legislation is found at the Land Transport (Clean Vehicle Discount Scheme Repeal) Amendment Act 2023.

More information is available on the NZTA website.

These relate to Clean Car Discount policy changes which came into effect July 2023.

Due to the increased popularity of zero and low emission vehicles purchases, Clean Car Discount rebates and charges will change for vehicles registered from 1 July 2023. The changes will ensure that the scheme remains financially sustainable while also moving New Zealand’s vehicle fleet towards zero emissions. Amounts and eligibility for rebates will reduce, and charges on high emission vehicles will increase. A special provision for disability vehicles will be added. No change has been made to the rebate purchase price cap, meaning that vehicles must still be below $80,000 including GST and on-road costs to be eligible for a rebate.

Waka Kotahi’s Clean Car Discount webpage(external link) and the www.RightCar.govt.nz(external link) website have been updated soon to reflect these upcoming changes. 

All prices above include GST.

Visual summary of the changes:

Changes to the Clean Car Standard will be made regarding Disability Vehicles

The Government has agreed that Disability Vehicles should for the purposes of the Clean Vehicle Standard be deemed as “Type B vehicles” rather than “Type A vehicles”. This will assign less strict CO2 targets to distributors of these vehicles. The definition of a disability vehicle will be the same used by the Land Transport (Clean Vehicle Discount Scheme Charges) Regulations 2022.

Regulatory Changes

The Land Transport (Clean Vehicle Discount Scheme Charges) Amendment Regulations 2023(external link) and the Land Transport (Clean Vehicle Standard) Amendment Regulations 2023(external link) were made and published in May 2023. These bring policy changes into effect beginning 1 July 2023.

Below are the documents proactively realeased on the 28th of October 2022

Under section 103 of the Crown Entities Act (CEA) 2004 the Minister of Transport directed the New Zealand Transport Agency to give effect to government policy in the administration of rebates under the Clean Vehicle Discount Scheme. Cabinet has agreed to changes to the scheme and the Direction needed to be amended to reflect that decision. You can see the original direction here(external link) and the Direction, amended using section 115(3) of the CEA, here(external link).

Below are the documents proactively realeased on the 19th of January 2023.

The Government has announced new measures to take action on reducing transport emissions to help meet New Zealand’s 2050 carbon neutral target.

New Zealand’s goal is to be carbon neutral by 2050 and the Government has committed to reducing greenhouse gas emissions (primarily carbon dioxide CO₂) to 30% below 2005 levels by 2030.​

Starting 1 July 2021, the Clean Car Discount will make it cheaper for New Zealanders to switch to an electric vehicle (EV) or plug-in electric hybrid vehicle (PHEV).

To increase the uptake of EVs and plug-in electric hybrid vehicles, a discount, in the form of rebate, is available for imported new and used light EVs and PHEVs registered between 1 July and 31 December 2021.

Approximately half of New Zealand’s CO₂ emissions come from transport, of which two-thirds come from light vehicles – cars, SUVs, vans, utes and trucks under 3.5 tonnes. The Clean Car Discount scheme makes it easier to choose to buy an electric or low-emission light vehicle that’s better for the environment by reducing the cost of fuel-efficient vehicles imported into New Zealand.

The Clean Car Programme from 2022

From 2022 the Clean Car programme will expand to offer a range of rebates for imported new and used zero and low-CO₂ emission vehicles. High CO₂ emission vehicles will be charged a fee, the higher the CO₂ rating the greater the fee.

Rebates and fees will be set according to CO₂ emission ratings based on international testing protocols and calculated using the World Harmonized Light-duty Vehicles Test Procedure (WLTP). Rebates and fees will be reviewed regularly.

The programme is expected to prevent of up to 9.2 million tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions and will help with the upfront cost of switching to an EV or low emission vehicle.

Beehive press release (external link)

Further information is available at: www.nzta.govt.nz/cleancar(external link)

The Clean Car Standard and Clean Car Discount were announced in 2021 but aspects weren’t able to be confirmed or enforced until the Clean Vehicles Act came into force in February 2022. The Clean Vehicles Act primarily amends the Land Transport Act 1998 and Land Transport Management Act 2003.  

The Clean Car Discount Scheme -- encourages demand for low and zero emission vehicles. 

From 1 April 2022, charges will be imposed on high emitting vehicles, and rebates given to low-emitting ones. This will be done on a sliding scale. This is an expansion of the Discount Scheme that started on 1 July 2021 and provided rebates to buyers of battery electric and plugin-hybrid vehicles. 

Charges on high emission vehicles act as a purchase disincentive and will fund rebates for zero and low emission vehicles. Vehicles with neither very low nor high emissions will not be subject to rebates nor charges (explained in the graphic below).  

• More information for consumers and vehicle dealers is available from the Waka Kotahi Clean Car Website. This includes an online form to apply for a clean car rebate. 
• The RightCar website provides a searchable database of vehicles by type, make, model, or number plate. This allows you to look up the CO2 emissions, and what rebate or charge could apply to different vehicles, if you become the first registered owner of that vehicle. 
• The applicable charges, and vehicles excluded from the charges are set out in the Clean Vehicle Discount Scheme Charges Regulations which come into force on 1 April 2022.  

The Clean Car Standard -- encourages supply of low and zero emission vehicles.  

Part 13 of the Land Transport Act 1998 (as amended by the Clean Vehicles Act) sets out the legislative framework for the Clean Vehicle Standard, including: 

• Targets for reducing CO2 emissions – CO2 targets for vehicle importers apply from 2023 and will strengthen significantly each year through to 2027. CO2 targets for 2028 and later years may be set later by regulation.   
• Charges – imposed on vehicle importers who fail to achieve targets, and which rise over time.  
• Banking, borrowing, and transferring CO2  – limited methods that a vehicle importer can avoid charges if they cannot reach their CO2 target 
• Variations by vehicle type and weight - stricter targets apply for passenger cars than do for commercial vehicles (utes and vans). The Clean Vehicle Standard 2022 Regulations were made on 1 November 2022 and prescribe formulas for the weight adjustment of targets, specify the types of vehicles excluded from the policy, and other details related to CO2 accounts.  
• Compliance regimes – importers can either be assessed on an annual or per-vehicle basis. 
• Timing - from December 2022, importers of vehicles must have a CO2 account with Waka Kotahi in order to progress vehicles through entry certification. This ensures systems are in place to monitor importers against targets from January 2023. 
• The Land Transport (Clean Vehicles) Amendment Act (No 2) passed on 25 November 2022 and provides a 6-month phase-in period for charges and transfers, and, clarifies that motorcycles and mopeds are not part of the Clean Car Standard.
• More information for vehicle dealers is available from the Waka Kotahi Clean Car Standard Webpage.”  

Other legislative changes 

• Testing - the new Vehicle Efficiency and Emissions Data Rule prescribes how tailpipe CO2 emissions for vehicles are to be determined from 1 April 2022.  
• Labelling – the Vehicle Energy Economy Label regulation requires that CO₂, any rebate/fee, and other information be displayed both physically and online on vehicles for sale by motor vehicle traders from April 2022. 

Further Information 

• The Initial Briefing to Select Committee is a key document explaining the purpose and design of the policy and associated legislation. 
• The Departmental Report to Select Committee summarises public feedback on the Bill and other matters to improve the legislation.”.
• The Land Transport (Clean Vehicles) Amendment Bill details the legislative progress, including speeches, debates, public submissions, and reports. 
• The Land Transport (Clean Vehicles) Amendment Act 2022 is the final form of the legislation. 
• The Land Transport (Clean Vehicle Discount Scheme Charges) Regulations 2022 contains the detail of the Clean Car Discount. 
• The Land Transport (Clean Vehicle Standard) Regulations 2022 contains the detail of the Clean Car Standard
• The Land Transport Rule: Vehicle Efficiency and Emissions Data 2022 prescribes efficiency and emissions data requirements for vehicles entering New Zealand and replaces the earlier Fuel Consumption Information Rule.  
• The Energy Efficiency (Vehicle Energy Economy Labelling) Amendment Regulations 2022 prescribe information that motor vehicle traders must display when offering motor vehicles for sale.
• Inland Revenue has issued tax advice on the Clean Car policies.
• Clean Car Discount Fee/Rebate Calculator.
• Clean Car Standard Forecast tool for importers.
• The ICCT has produced a comparison of New Zealand’s CO2 targets against those of other countries and an assessment of their feasibility.
• Comparison of Vehicle CO2 targets compiled January 2022 by The ICCT Source Data
• Comparison of Electric Vehicle sales market share in various key markets 2010 to 2022.

The Government agreed to introduce the Clean Car Standard – a Co₂ emissions standard for imported new and used light vehicles. We expect legislation to implement the Clean Car Standard will be introduced in 2021, with the policy taking effect in 2022, although any charges on suppliers who do not meet the Standard will not apply until the beginning of 2023.

Beehive press release: Government moves on climate promises(external link)

Clean Car Import Standard Explainer [PDF; 886KB](external link)

We consulted on the 2 proposals in July and August 2019. The Clean Car Standard is a vehicle carbon dioxide standard, or fuel efficiency standard. It would require vehicle importers to lower the carbon dioxide emissions of the vehicles they are importing. The Clean Car Discount is a feebate scheme that would make low emission vehicles, like electric vehicles and petrol hybrids, more affordable for Kiwis to buy.

These changes would prevent more than 5 million tonnes of dangerous greenhouse gas emissions going into our atmosphere and make a major contribution to meeting New Zealand’s climate targets.

Clean Cars is part of our Climate change — emissions work programme.

Climate change — emissions work programme

Beehive Press Release: Govt proposing to make clean cars cheaper to tackle climate change(external link)