Electric Vehicles in New Zealand:
from Passenger to Driver?
Dr. Allan Miller, Scott Lemon
New Zealand Greenhouse Gas Emissions
Greenhouse gas emissions by sector and vehicle type in New Zealand
76
million
Tonnes of greenhouse gases
emitted by New Zealand in
2012
New Zealand Greenhouse Gas Emissions
Greenhouse gas emissions by sector and vehicle type in New Zealand
New Zealand Greenhouse Gas Emissions
Greenhouse gas emissions by sector and vehicle type in New Zealand
1
Market
2
Policy
3
Environment
Market
1.1 New Zealand Vehicle Fleet
Passenger car ownership per 1000 people for OECD countries
Passenger Cars (per 1000 people)
700
600
500
400
300
200
100
2.6
million
600
Luxembourg
Iceland
USA
Italy
New Zealand
Australia
Finland
Austria
Slovenia
Switzerland
Germany
Greece
Belgium
Spain
France
Norway
Netherlands
Sweden
UK
Japan
Poland
Canada
Ireland
Czech Republic
Estonia
Denmark
Slovakia
Hungary
South Korea
Israel
Mexico
Chile
Turkey
0
Country
Light passenger vehicles
registered in New Zealand
Passenger cars per 1000
people in New Zealand
th
5
Highest rate of passenger
car ownership in the OECD
1.2 New Zealand Vehicle Fleet
Number of Registered Passenger Vehicles
Age distribution of passenger vehicles in the New Zealand fleet
250000
200000
150000
100000
50000
0
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40
Vehicle Age (years)
13
years
Average age of a light
passenger vehicle in New
Zealand
1.4 Cost Analysis
Cumulative cost of owning a petrol, diesel, hybrid and electric vehicle from 2012
1.4 Cost Analysis
Cumulative cost of owning an electric vs. petrol vehicle with off-peak charging
Policy and Regulation
3.1 Policy and Regulation
Breakdown of measures available to governments for stimulating EV adoption
Measures






Economic
Suasive
Sales tax
Subsidies
Bonus/malus
Scrappage
Annual tax
Fuel taxation
 Education
 Standards &
guidelines
Regulatory
 Emission targets
 Vehicle standards
Organisational
 Infrastructure
 Usage incentives
 Free parking
 HOV lane use
3.2.1 Economic Measures – Tax Reduction
Global overview of countries implementing tax reduction measures for EVs
Australia
Austria
Belgium
Czech Republic
Denmark
Finland
France
Germany
Greece
India
Ireland
Israel
Italy
Japan
Netherlands
Norway
Portugal
South Korea
Spain
Sweden
Switzerland
Turkey
United
Kingdom
United States
3.2.2 Economic Measures - Subsidies
Global overview of countries implementing direct subsidy measures for EVs
Canada
China
Finland
India
Ireland
Japan
Luxembourg
South Korea
Spain
United Kingdom
3.3 Electric Vehicle Incentives in New Zealand
Viable short-term measures for encouraging EV uptake
Short-term
(2012-2015)
 Suasive/regulatory
measures
 Increase consumer
awareness about
importance of fuel
economy
 Tighten fuel economy
standards on imported
vehicles
Mid-term
(2015-2020)
Long-term
(2020-)
3.3 Electric Vehicle Incentives in New Zealand
Viable medium-term measures for encouraging EV uptake
Short-term
(2012-2015)
Mid-term
(2015-2020)
 Organisational measures
 Installation of charging
stations
 Requirement for new
homes and car parks to
include provision for EVs
Long-term
(2020-)
3.3 Electric Vehicle Incentives in New Zealand
Viable long-term measures for encouraging EV uptake
Short-term
(2012-2016)
Mid-term
(2016-2020)
Long-term
(2020-)
 Economic measures
 Scrappage schemes and
decreased taxes/vehicle
charges
 Aim to increase fleet
turnover rate and speed
the transition to a
greener transportation
system
Environment
2.5
tonnes
Of CO2e gas emitted by an
average passenger vehicle
in New Zealand annually
Country
USA
Australia
New Zealand
China
Russia
Mexico
Israel
Estonia
Canada
South Korea
Sweden
Germany
Chile
Finland
Greece
Luxembourg
UK
Austria
Netherlands
Ireland
Slovenia
Iceland
Turkey
Czech Republic
Switzerland
Hungary
Poland
Slovakia
Spain
Belgium
Denmark
Italy
Japan
India
France
Portugal
Average Passenger Vehicle Emissions
(gCO2e/km)
3.1 Light Passenger Vehicle GHG Emissions
Amount of GHG emitted by average light passenger vehicles around the world
250
200
150
100
50
0
74%
Renewable energy powering
the New Zealand grid in
2012
142
grams
India
Estonia
China
Australia
Israel
Poland
Greece
Czech Republic
USA
South Korea
Ireland
UK
Turkey
Mexico
Germany
Japan
Russia
Chile
Netherlands
Italy
Slovenia
Hungary
Denmark
Luxembourg
Portugal
Spain
Finland
Slovakia
Belgium
Canada
Austria
New Zealand
France
Sweden
Norway
Switzerland
Iceland
Average Grid Emissions
(gCO2e/kWh)
3.2 Average Grid GHG Emissions
Amount of GHG emitted per unit of residential electricity consumed
1000
900
800
700
600
500
400
300
200
100
0
Country
Of CO2e gas emitted per
kWh of electricity used by
households in New Zealand
3.3 Average Vehicle Emissions
Greenhouse gas emissions for electric and average fleet vehicles by country
3.4 New Zealand Greenhouse Gas Emissions
Greenhouse gas emissions by sector and vehicle type in New Zealand
Conclusion
Market
New Zealand’s fleet is old,
inefficient and in need of
change
EVs are currently too
expensive, and the pay-back
period too long despite lower
operational costs
Policy
Tax reductions and price
subsidies are widely used
worldwide but are too
expensive to justify in New
Zealand
The short-term focus should
be on improving fuel
economy regulations and
educating consumers
Environment
EVs can achieve considerable
GHG emission reductions in a
green power system like New
Zealand’s
Greatest short-term impact of
a transition to EVs will be a
decrease in local air pollution
and a resulting improvement
in public health