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Once touted as a possible “Norway of the Pacific,” New Zealand’s electric vehicle transition was stopped in its tracks by a change of government. The new conservative government reversed the generous tax incentives for EVs and brought in a road user charge. EV sales plummeted. Sounds like another country we know. Now it appears that they are on the rise, back from the dead, breaching like a whale. In December 2023, EVs reached a market penetration of 37.7% in NZ. This dropped to 2% in January 2024 and has been in the doldrums until March of this year when it started to climb out of the crypt. Plugin vehicle penetration has been nudging 30% for the past few months.
Historical perspective. Graph courtesy of James at EVDB NZ.
Battery electric cars have increased 231% over the same month last year, and PHEV sales have almost doubled. See some great charts here. Thanks, James. With the uncertainty of fossil fuel supplies (thank you, Donald), dealers ran out of second-hand EVs, as reported here. New plug-in car sales are up; mild hybrid, petrol, and diesel are all down. How much does that fossil fuel cost, you ask? Regular petrol (91 Octane) sells for $NZ 3.00 to $NZ 3.15 per litre. To save you looking it up, one $NZ = 58 cents US. Premium petrol (95 Octane) sells for $NZ 3.25 to $NZ 3.40 per litre. Diesel sells for $NZ2.30 to $NZ 2.55 per litre. There are 4 and half litres to a gallon. So, roughly (and I know someone will check my maths and correct me), it would cost $US 7.83 a gallon for regular.
