Toyota NZ: we would help Suzuki
NZ’s top brand says it would help struggling rivals with Clean Car
Toyota New Zealand (TNZ) chief executive Neeraj Lala says he would happily use the company’s Clean Car Standard (CCS) credits to help rival brands such as Suzuki, which are heavily disadvantaged by the scheme in its current form.
While the Clean Car Discount programme aimed at vehicle buyers was axed at the end of last year, the CCS that focuses on vehicle importers/distributors continues. It sets an annually decreasing CO2 target for companies to meet; if they better the targets, credits are issued. If they don’t meet the targets, fines follow.
The credits are expressed in dollars, although they’re not actually money; they can’t be cashed in, but they can be used to offset demerits, traded or held for up to 3 years. Rest assured, the fines are very real money though.
The CCS targets are aggressive, especially the ultimate 2027 figure of 66g/km against Toyota’s own 92g/km. The rather complicated way CCS calculates CO2 for individual cars (weight is a factor, for example) means brands with very light cars or those without EVs in their local ranges will find it virtually impossible to hit those targets in the coming years.
Transport Minister Simeon Brown has undertaken to review the CCS and is currently meeting with motor-industry leaders to get their views.
In the CCS scheme as it stands, TNZ has accumulated a massive $28m in credits, thanks partly to its focus on a broad range of hybrid models. He says Suzuki’s situation is one of concern to him: “Its reduction trajectory isn’t as achievable, because the products are already really low emission.
“Our information and insight to the Minister is [that this] is the unintended consequence of policy. When you’ve got a brand like Suzuki that is operating at the right end of the emissions profile, having a cookie-cutter approach that everybody’s got to reduce by 40 per cent is unsustainable.” Why would Toyota help a rival by trading valuable credits? Lala says TNZ wants to take a “holistic” approach and ensure credits are used for “social benefit” of some kind.
“I’m also the vice-president of the Motor Industry Association, so I have multiple hats. Each brand has a unique role.”