EV market distortion concerns

Auto Court staff Bob Woodford (left) with a 2013 Nissan Leaf, and Colin Dick with a 2008 Toyota Hiace. Under the proposed changes second-hand Leaf cars would receive a discount of $2600 while a used Toyota Hiace would incur a penalty of $1400. Photo: Gerard O'Brien

The Government has announced a proposal to decrease the country's carbon footprint by subsidising electric vehicles, hybrids and other fuel-efficient vehicles by putting a fee on higher-emission imports in 2021.

• National critical of clean vehicle plan 

Electric car owner Dave Hawkins, of Wanaka, had doubts about the idea, saying he feared the value of new electric vehicles would ''plummet''.

He thought the feebate, combined with the introduction of the road user charges for electric vehicles in 2021, would cause people to stick with cheaper hybrids or fuel-efficient petrol cars.

''[It'll] definitely make small petrol cars and hybrids cheaper to buy.

''The whole plan's a bit of a disaster.''

Drivers of an average-sized petrol car contribute about $600 a year through road-user charges.

Dunedin EV Group co-convener Pam McKinlay said the proposal to subsidise low-emission vehicles was good news, and electric cars would still be much cheaper to run even if owners had to pay an extra $600 a year.

According to EnergyWise, the fuel running cost of an electric vehicle is the equivalent of paying 30 cents a litre, approximately 15% of the cost of running a petrol vehicle.

In the four years she had had her $20,000 Nissan Leaf, it had paid for itself in fuel, registration and maintenance cost savings, compared with a petrol-powered vehicle.

Dunedin businessman Jonathan Delaney said he was concerned the electric vehicle his business currently had would depreciate.

There was no clarity on whether the $80,000 limit for vehicles to be eligible for discounts included electric vehicles with extra options.

''It's not quite as well thought-through as it needs to be.''

The feebate will make fuel-efficient cars such as the Suzuki Swift, as well as electric ones such as the popular Nissan Leaf, more affordable.

Under the discussion paper, New Zealand's most popular imported vehicle, the Ford Ranger, would become more expensive.

Otago Federated Farmers president Simon Davies said although he agreed with the proposal in principle, farmers in Otago did not often use electric vehicles because their range was not great enough.

''It's just another way to tax farmers,'' the farming industry representative said yesterday.

Mrs McKinlay said there were four-wheel drive options available which the community was not well-informed about, including the Hyundai Kona, recently featured on Country Calendar.

Auto Court owner Neil Cottle, who sold between 35 and 40 models of hybrid and electric vehicles, said there were too many unknowns to say what the effect of the proposal would be.

Something that surprised him about the proposal was irrespective of the cost of a fully electric car, the car received an $8000 concession, whereas he would usually expect a discount to be applied pro rata.

elena.mcphee@odt.co.nz