New Zealand EV Penetration At 33%, For Now

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Electrical automobile numbers in New Zealand are holding sturdy in current months, with the phase recording 34% share of the auto market in September, a slight dip to 29% in October, and a lifeless cat bounce again to 33% in November. All expectations, nonetheless, are that with the current election of a right-leaning authorities, promising an finish to the “ute tax,” the primary quarter of 2024 will present a big lower within the gross sales of electrical automobiles.

The outgoing authorities’s “Clear Automotive Low cost” was nicknamed the “ute tax” as a result of the dearth of electrical utes meant that farmers and others needed to pay extra tax for a diesel automobile. That they had no selection. James at EVDB tells us that over the two.5 years because the introduction of the Clear Automotive Low cost’s malus/bonus tax incentive, New Zealand has gone from 30,000 plugin automobiles on the street to an estimated 100,000 by the top of this 12 months. That’s a big step change. Nonetheless, disgruntled farmers are a formidable voting bloc.

November 2023 was a report month for plugin automobile registrations in New Zealand — 4,667 together with used imports (Nissan LEAFs from Japan). General, 23% of the market’s auto gross sales have been BEVs and 10% have been PHEVs. That’s fairly a excessive share of PHEVs in comparison with different maturing markets — markets in Europe, for instance.

Surprisingly, the very best promoting model in NZ for EVs was MG. Though, if used imports are thought of, the Nissan LEAF could be the most well-liked EV. The MG4 is attaining excellent numbers — think about that it has solely been available on the market for 4 months and has already achieved the place of 4th highest promoting automobile of the 12 months.

Along with plugin automobiles taking 33% of the market, 30% of the market have been typical hybrids (HEVs), 31% have been purely petrol automobiles, and 6% have been diesel automobiles. It will likely be attention-grabbing to look at the HEV numbers (primarily Toyota) when the BZ4 is lastly launched. It’s good to see the diesel numbers persistently falling.

The highest ten greatest promoting BEVs in New Zealand in November 2023 have been:

1. Tesla Mannequin Y (544)
2. MG4 (468)
3. BYD Atto 3 (337)
4. Skoda Enyaq (142)
5. MG ZS EV (106)
6. Mini Electrical (96)
7. BYD Dolphin (95)
8. VW ID.4 (94)
9. GWM ORA (92)
10. Polestar 2 (79)

It is vitally tough to attract any conclusions about specific fashions from the gross sales charts, as NZ’s auto market suffers from the vagaries of auto importers and worldwide logistics. New to the highest ten are: the Skoda Enyaq (described by New Zealanders as “a very nice automobile, not a spaceship”) and the MINI electri. Lacking in motion is the Tesla Mannequin 3 (solely 22 Tesla Mannequin 3s offered in November) and the Kia EV 6 (simply missed a placement on the highest 10 checklist with 67 items offered). Most positions within the decrease half of the desk have remained intact. Ford managed to promote 40 Mustang Mach-Es.

As compared: Toyota offered over 2,000 HEV items, consisting primarily of the RAV4 (657) and Corolla (855). It seems that there are nonetheless solely 3 hydrogen-powered vehicles in New Zealand.

On the rostrum for BEV model gross sales are: gold to MG (574), silver to Tesla (544), and bronze to BYD (432).

High promoting plug in hybrids (PHEVs) have been:

1. Mitsubishi Eclipse Cross (314)
2. Mitsubishi Outlander (276)
3. MG HS (239)
4. Jeep Compass (58)
5. Ford Escape (33)
6. Jeep Renegade (29)
7. Mazda CX-60 (28)
8. Kia Niro (18)
9. Kia Sorrento (14)
10. Audi Q5 (13)

Highlights from the info embody: extra Mitsubishi PHEV Outlanders offered (276) than Ford’s diesel Everest (250) and Toyota’s LandCruiser (83). MG is rising as a worldwide contender for the quantity 3 spot in plugins behind BYD and Tesla! Jeepers, creepers, take a look at these numbers for plugin Jeeps!! It will likely be attention-grabbing to verify on the PHEV gross sales as soon as tax incentives are eliminated. When this occurred in Europe, PHEV gross sales plummeted.

The New Zealand electrical automobiles Fb web page is replete with tales of latest charging infrastructure being put in and excited take a look at drivers of the Tesla Mannequin 3 Highland. Tesla is providing 2-hour take a look at drives in some areas of New Zealand. Feels like a terrific concept for many who have to get to know the “new” automobile. Many of the feedback point out the necessity to get used to the dearth of indicator stalks. Hopefully the Tesla Mannequin 3 can have elevated deliveries in December and January and will likely be again within the high ten very quickly.

“Lastly there’s some sturdy enlargement and upgrading of public charging networks together with a mixture of new websites, Tesla Superchargers installations, ChargeNet upgrades, and installations at service stations,” one Facebooker commented. The hen and the eggs appear to be coming collectively.

In a primary for the land of the lengthy white cloud, all of the contenders for the Automotive of the Yr Award are electrical — eight are BEVs, one (the Nissan X path) is a plug-less hybrid, and one is a plug-in hybrid (Peugeot 308). “In alphabetical order, the candidates are: BMW i7, Cupra Born, Ford Mustang Mach-E, Hyundai Ioniq 6, Lexus RZ, Mercedes-Benz EQE sedan, MG4, Nissan X-Path, Peugeot 308, and Skoda Enyaq.”

The final 4 years have seen the award dominated by BEVs: Jaguar i-Tempo (2019), Mercedes-Benz EQC (2020), Hyundai Ioniq 5 (2021), and BYD Atto3 (2022). The winner will likely be introduced in February. Solely fashions which have launched within the New Zealand market within the final 12 months are thought of.

Vehicles are assessed by the next standards: “how the automobile performs its meant function; its styling, inside design and lodging; match, end and high quality; experience and refinement; efficiency; road-holding and dealing with; worth for cash; lively and passive security and environmental duty.”

In an effort to recoup falling revenues from petrol and diesel excise, the New Zealand authorities will introduce a street consumer tax from March 24, 2024. It’s more likely to mirror the diesel tax of NZ$0.076 cents per km pushed. Ostensibly, this cash will likely be used to fund upkeep by the Nationwide Land Transport Fund. The current change of presidency just isn’t more likely to alter the taxing resolution. Thus, there will likely be one other headwind affecting EV gross sales within the second quarter of 2024.

It will likely be fascinating to look at the New Zealand auto market in 2024. How far will NZ get in direction of its aspiration of turning into the Norway of the Pacific?