Electric cars preserve of middle class, says MTA
Electric vehicles are an option for better-off consumers, while people on low incomes are likely to hold on to petrol cars for years to come, research commissioned by the Motor Trade Association suggests.
The MTA has commissioned Business and Economic Research to look into the economics of EVs.
MTA strategy manager Greig Epps said that although the numbers were not yet solid, it was clear that regardless of whether people bought an EV outright or on finance, they were going to need ‘‘a decent income’’ to pay it off.
‘‘Currently EVs are a ‘middle class and above’ option. But what are we doing for the rest of society to make sure we are all working together to move towards the climate change goals that the Government wants to set?’’
New Zealand would not be able to match the achievements of EV leaders such as Norway unless it put similar incentives in place, he said.
Norway and New Zealand have populations of about 5 million and both countries produce more than 80 per cent of their electricity from renewable source – in Norway’s case the figure is 98 per cent.
But while New Zealand has only 8000 pure electric EVs on the road and about another 3000 ‘‘plug-in hybrids’’, Norway has more than 178,000.
Norway excludes EVs from sales tax (normally 25 per cent) and imposes an additional purchase tax on petrol and diesel vehicles that varies according to their emissions.
‘‘So the higher the emissions, the higher the tax,’’ said Christina Bu, secretary-general of the Norwegian Electric Vehicle Association.
The result is that the purchase price of EVs and equivalent petrol cars is about the same, she said on a visit to Auckland this week. Motor Trade Association strategy manager Greig Epps
All new cars sold in Norway from 2025 will have to be zeroemission under a law change that received cross-party support.
EVs – excluding plug-in hybrids – now make up more than 7 per cent of Norway’s total fleet, and 45 per cent of all new cars sold in September were fully electric.
In Norway, EVs were also once just for the better-off. But not any more, Bu said, as they trickled down to the secondhand market in bigger numbers.
Bu said she does not understand why New Zealand is so negative towards ‘‘feebate’’ incentives.
‘‘You are treating electric cars the same way as big, polluting gasguzzlers. Why does New Zealand do that when ... you have the possibility of producing more renewable electricity here?’’
Epps agreed that EV uptake comes down to the rules. Without a ‘‘push’’ from the Government, things would not change, he said.
‘‘We are still importing 20-yearold vehicles. Why? Because the regulations allow it.’’
Epps said a report issued by the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change last month showed ‘‘we need to do something now’’. But New Zealand had 4 million cars. ‘‘We need to find a way to help cycle through the current stock and replace it with ‘greener stock’ as it comes to hand.’’
That greener stock won’t come instantly, he points out. ‘‘The world does not have the resources at the moment to produce the number of EVs we are all looking for.’’