Big decrease in emissions from new vehicles sold in NZ

Tuesday, 28 January 2020

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According to new figures released by the Motor Industry Association (MIA) average greenhouse gas emissions from new vehicles sold in New Zealand last year dropped at a significantly faster rate than in the previous five years.

The figures show that emissions have dropped from an average of 220.7 grams per km to 174.4 grams per km - an overall drop of 21 per cent since 2006 when the MIA first began recording average emissions for new vehicles.

The rate of reduction has been flat since 2014, but has been accelerating again since 2018 with the 2019 drop of 2.6 per cent being the biggest reduction on one year since 2013.

The average emissions of new cars sold in New Zealand has had its biggest drop in more than five years.

MIA Chief Executive David Crawford said that this 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.

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MIA CEO David Crawford attributes the drop to an increased number of electrified vehicles being sold.

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Figures supplied by the Motor Industry Association since it started recording new car emission averages in 2006.

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'There has been a significant increase in sales of vehicles with some form of electrification, which include hybrid, plug-in hybrid and pure battery electric vehicles and this is starting to have a positive impact on our emissions,' said Crawford.

'This is certainly an accelerating trend. The rate of reduction in average emissions is heading in the right direction with the biggest drop in emissions coming last year compared to the last five years.'

Crawford pointed to the fact that nearly 9000 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 4000 sold,' he said.

'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. New Zealand is a fast technology adopter and the popularity of electrified vehicles reflects that.

'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.'

On the back of the accelerating rate in the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions from the new vehicle fleet, Crawford questioned the need for the Government to introduce its proposed clean car policies, but said that the proposed clean car discount, which provides rebates to purchasers of fuel-efficient vehicles while attaching penalties to larger less fuel-efficient models, would only help reinforce this positive trend.