Second-hand EVs surge in popularity
Monday, 21 March 2022
As fuel prices consistently touch and break the $3-per-litre mark, it seems more and more people are looking to make the jump to electric power.
Figures from Trade Me show that there was a 72 per cent increase in the number of people adding EVs to their watchlist over February, compared to the same month in 2021. This also partially due to the increasing number of EVs and hybrids on the market, meaning there are more options to fit Kiwis’ needs and budgets.
The most popular EV models on Trade Me for February were the Nissan Leaf, followed by the Tesla Model 3, Audi e-tron, Hyundai Ioniq, and the Tesla Model S. More than 4000 EVs and hybrids are currently listed on the website.
Mention hybrids, this is now the most searched for thing on Trade Me nearly 100,000 searches in the last week - an 88 per cent increase on the week prior. ‘Tesla’ is the ninth most searched for item, followed by the Nissan Leaf at number ten.
**READ MORE:
* What exactly does the Clean Car Discount mean for car buyers?
* Spike in the number of Kiwis looking to buy an electric vehicle - Trade Me
* Jacinda Ardern says 'Feebate' scheme won't just apply to electric vehicles
**
Trade Me Motors sales director, Jayme Fuller, said the highest demand for EVs comes from Wellington, based on searches and vehicles being added to watchlists, with even more demand expected when the Clean Car Discount kicks in on April 1.
As a refresher, this is when the current scheme starts offering rebates for used import EVs as well as new models, with second-hand imported electric vehicles offering a $3450 rebates, and used PHEVs, hybrids, and low-emission vehicles able to get back a maximum of $2300.
There will be a ‘zero band’ where vehicles with CO2 emissions of between 146g/km and 192g/km get no rebate and attract no high emitter fees, and anything emitting more than 192g/km will attract a fee up to a maximum of $5,175.
New vehicles will operate on a sliding scale based on CO2 emissions to include low emission vehicles, such as hybrids, with the maximum discount remaining $8,645 for a zero-emission vehicle under the $80,000 cutoff, and decreasing based on CO2 emissions.
It pays to mention, though, that the rebate only applies to vehicles being registered in New Zealand for the first time, so a lot of private-sale Trade Me offerings won’t be eligible.