More electrics and fast, pressure group says

Temptation to buy into used fossil fuelled stock rather than electric vehicles will threaten environmental ambitions, an EV support agency says.

mark gilbert, of Drive Electric.

 AN electric car advocacy organisation that has had the Government’s ear has be driven to offer thought on policies relevant to this subject announced by two major political parties.

Mark Gilbert, who chairs Drive Electric, a not-for-profit established purely to promote the uptake of EVs in New Zealand, was speaking today in direct response to policy statements released by Labour and National this week.

Drive Electric has indicated it can see positives from each party’s policies. However, it also seems to think both are aiming too low.

National said today it would set a target of getting 80,000 EVs on the road by 2023. That target represents a fourfold increase on the number of EVs currently in the national fleet.

Gilbert however, says Drive Electric believes national intent to achieve legislated climate ambitions demands the national EV carpark to exceed more than 250,000 vehicles by 2025.

According, he says, what the country really needs “is an ambitious bipartisan roadmap to decarbonise the light fleet in line with the Zero Carbon Act, detailed in a New Zealand Motor Industry Plan.

“In New Zealand the light fleet constitutes more than 90 percent of the travel on New Zealand roads, and remains a growing component of our nation’s emissions. We can’t leave a transition to chance.”

The former managing director of BMW New Zealand says this country is an eager taker of automotive technology. But it could easily head in the ‘wrong’ direction.

“The future of light vehicles worldwide is carbon-free. Unless we have a consistent policy roadmap that deliberately moves New Zealand towards EVs, we will lock in the importation of second-hand fossil fuel powered cars from markets like Japan and the UK as they decarbonise. 

“We congratulate the National party for their policy announcement today, including specifying a target of 80,000 EVs on the roads by 2023. Hitting these numbers would mean progress. The proposal on FBT (fringe benefit tax), in particular, is a real step forward.

“NZTA data for 2019 shows that almost 60 percent of new passenger cars were bought by companies. Incentivising the corporate fleet to transition, through initiatives like this and access to bus lanes and high occupancy lanes, is a vital way to introduce EVs into the country.”

Drive Electric would like the next Government to go a step further and work with the industry to detail how New Zealand will then get to 250,000 EVs by 2025, and then move to decarbonise the entire fleet.

“We welcome Labour’s recommitment to the Clean Car Standard. However, this is just one element of a roadmap towards a light vehicle fleet that does not emit carbon.”

Gilbert says a standard needs to be supported by additional measures to enable businesses and consumers to move into emissions-free vehicles.

“Perversely, without actively encouraging consumers to switch to EVs through tax or other incentives, a clean car standard makes it more likely New Zealanders will buy cheap, second hand petrol cars exported from Japan or the UK, instead of EVs.”

This, he suggests, will lock in the number of petrol cars on New Zealand roads for longer, making it more difficult to meet our climate change ambitions.

“For New Zealanders, it’s fair that New Zealanders understand the future must be electric, so they can take this into consideration when they buy their next car.

“The abundance of renewable energy in New Zealand means the owner of an EV in New Zealand can charge their vehicle at home for as low as 30 cents a litre.”

Drive Electric recently announced five key policy platforms it suggests are required to decarbonise the fleet. That document can be found at: https://driveelectric.org.nz/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/DE-policy-discussion.pdf

New grand plan: 250,000 EVs by 2025

The country’s major electric vehicle supporter has unveiled a new raft of proposals.

NEW Zealand’s grand plan to have 64,000 electric vehicles on the roads by 2021 is proving a failure – so now the sector has hatched an ambitious new plan to have at least 250,000 of the vehicles on our roads by 2025.

Drive Electric, the organisation that wants to make EV ownership mainstream, has announced a new campaign involving five key policy platforms it wants the next Government to adopt to meet that target.

It’s a tough ask, if the poor results of the Government’s Electric Vehicles Programme announced four years ago are any indication.

That plan involved a package of measures with a target of doubling the number of EVs in New Zealand every year to reach 64,000 cars by next year. But the target has nowhere near been reached - by mid-year this year the total had reached just 20,916 – with more than 13,000 of those registrations used cars imported from overseas.

But Drive Electric argues that if New Zealand is going to meet climate change targets set by the Zero Carbon Act, it will need to see at least 250,000 new EVs on the roads by 2025, and for this trend to continue through to 2030. And that number should not include hybrids, it adds, because those non plug-in vehicles are still powered by fossil fuels.

In an interview with MotoringNZ, Drive Electric chair Mark Gilbert, pictured, criticised New Zealand’s lack of action regarding the takeup of EVs.

“Dear old New Zealand seems to be stuck in a time warp,” he said. “But nothing’s going to change if nothing changes. That’s why we are putting this proposal out there – to point out that you’ve got to actually do stuff to make thing happen.

Drive Electric points out that New Zealand must reduce emissions by around 60 per cent by 2030 to stay within 1.5C of warming, which is the target contained in the Zero Carbon Act.

Road transport is the second-largest source of emissions in New Zealand. Our light vehicle fleet constitutes more than 90 per cent of the travel on New Zealand roads. Therefore, e-mobility is an essential part of our transport future.

Gilbert adds that for the desired level of EV ownership to be achieved, New Zealand needs a bi-partisan target and pathway that will create certainty and guide investment in e-mobility.

“It is fair to New Zealanders to be upfront about the changes that are happening when it comes to cars, which for many if their first or second-biggest asset.

“With emissions targets that need to be met, and automotive technology shifting towards emissions-free, the time is now to plan for a future New Zealand that embraces e-mobility.”

Drive Electric proposes five key actions for the next Government.

It wants development of a bi-partisan pathway for the transport sector to deliver New Zealand’s climate change objectives. This should feature clear targets and a well-defined transition pathway which engages industry and has bi-partisan support. This would create investment certainty for future governments, transport agencies, businesses and individuals.

It wants businesses to be encouraged to purchase EVs for their fleets. Such vehicles are yet to reach price parity with new petrol and diesel vehicles, and corporates may need additional encouragement to invest in them in the short term. Policy initiatives such as changing fringe benefit tax to enable private use of corporate EVs, or increasing the rate of depreciation of such cars, would incentivise their uptake. Other tax and purchase incentives could be explored, based on international experience in markets such as Sweden.

It wants the Government to take leadership in EV use. Currently, less than 1 per cent of the government fleet of 16,000 vehicles are EVs, and yet the New Zealand Government Procurement body has a goal to have the government’s fleet emissions-free by 2025. The Government could take a leadership position by executing on this position and moving the entire fleet to electric.

It wants New Zealand made a globally attractive market for EVs. Without a clear target and pathway to transition, the country risks being overlooked by international car manufacturers as a market for new technology, competitive pricing and ranges in EVs. Worse, without clear government guidance on EV targets and emissions standards, we risk becoming a dumping ground for cheap petrol/diesel and hybrid vehicles from UK and Japan as they move to EVs.

It wants New Zealanders to be encouraged to move to EVs. Setting a bi-partisan target and transition pathway would create future certainty for motorists to consider EVs, especially as the cost of ownership reaches parity.

A discussion document produced by Drive Electric in support of its new campaign says transforming New Zealand’s fleet to EVs would have positive impacts beyond reducing emissions.

The country would be less reliant on foreign oil, which would reduce the balance of payments. Air pollution would reduce. Over time, families would save money on fuel and operating costs, particularly as the total cost of ownership of EVs is set to reach parity with petrol and diesel vehicles before 2025.

“Finally, New Zealand is an ideal market for electrification, because our electricity is renewable,” says the document.

Drive Electric is a not-for-profit organisation with a membership that represents the entire e-mobility ecosystem including electricity companies, car manufacturers, and finance companies. The five key policy platforms were devised by these members, supported by external experts including investment consultant Dr Paul Winton, economist Shamubeel Eaqub, and sustainability consultant James Walker.

Dr Winton, the founder of climate action group the 1Point5 Project, says reaching 250,000 EVs in the national fleet by 2025 is a challenging but realistic target for New Zealand.

“If we were to achieve EV adoption rates similar to what Norway has today for new-to-fleet vehicles by 2025, this would result in 250,000 EV in the light fleet. If we continued at that rate, our light fleet would comprise 30-40 per cent electric or zero emissions vehicles by 2030.

Dr Winton claims New Zealand’s transition would be easier than when Norway began 10 years ago, because EVs are becoming less expensive and more capable.

“By 2025 there will be no clear reason for consumers or businesses not to buy EVs. To buy a petrol or diesel vehicle in 2025 would be to buy a car that is more expensive at the outset, more expensive to run and repair, has a shorter lifespan, performs worse, and with higher emissions.”