Tax the Polluters
Can New Zealand reach Norway's standard for electric vehicles?
Norway has surpassed the rest of us - they have the largest electric vehicle (EV) ownership per capita in the world.
With more than 200,000 plug-in EVs recorded at the end of last year, the number continues to rise as the country aims to sell only zero carbon-emission cars by 2025.
So how does New Zealand compare? Christina Bu is the Norwegian Electric Vehicles Association secretary general and she spoke to The AM Show on Monday.
Cash carrots needed to wean drivers off petrol
More than three-quarters of owners who took part in a new "Flip the Fleet" poll believed cash incentives would be needed if more than half of new vehicle registrations were to be electric by 2025.
Of more than 66,000 new or used light vehicle registrations in the first three months of this year, just over 800 were EVs.
As at last month, New Zealand's EV fleet stood at 9,241 - although that was still a big leap from the 206 EVs recorded at the same time five years ago.
Incentivising EVs
We know electric cars make sense – but we need a financial push to buy one
From tax incentives to cash grants, ‘price signals’ are the key to increasing the uptake of electric vehicles in New Zealand, writes Victoria University’s Lisa Marriott. ...
"If we are genuinely committed to meeting our carbon targets, words need to be supported by action. Weak policy tools will not achieve strong behavioural change. The road transport sector is one where global experience shows that significant beneficial results are achievable when the tax system is used to influence the price of vehicles. What are we waiting for?"
[Lisa Marriott - The Spinoff - 16 July 2018]