INDUSTRY NEWS
ACCELERATING EV SALES REFLECT LOWER EMISSION AVERAGE The Motor Industry Association of New Zealand (MIA) says the increase in sales of new electrified vehicles is starting to have a positive impact on average greenhouse gas emissions which dropped at significantly faster rate in 2019 than in the previous five years. MIA chief executive David Crawford says emissions have dropped from 220.7 grams per km to 174.4 grams per km, an overall drop of 21% since 2006 when the MIA began annual recording of average emissions for new vehicles as they enter the fleet. The rate of reduction has been flat since 2014, but have been accelerating again since 2018 with the 2019 drop of 2.6% being the biggest reduction on one year since 2013. Crawford says this is a positive trend and is a result of a growing range of models with some form of electrification coming on to the market as well as increasing fuel efficiency across a whole range of new vehicles. “Nearly 9,000 new vehicles powered by some form of electrification sold in New Zealand last year. That’s a major jump from the previous year when there were fewer than 4,000 sold.” “As the range of brands and models of electric vehicles grows, they’re also becoming more affordable, and more New Zealanders are seeing them as being a viable purchase. The drop in emissions is also helped by the big volume of small efficient petrol vehicles on the market and increased efficiency across a range of models.” “We are a tiny market on the global stage and have minimal ability to directly influence manufacturers, but these figures show that we are able to closely follow progressive regions, such as Europe, in reducing emissions from our light vehicle fleet.” He says the accelerating rate in the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions from the new vehicle fleet calls into question the need for the Government to introduce its proposed clean car policies. However, if the Government feels the need to introduce policies to support the reduction in emission then the proposed clean car discount, which provides rebates to purchasers of fuel-efficient vehicles while attaching penalties to larger less fuel-efficient models, will help reinforce this positive trend.
Source: autotalk.co.nz
11