Fewer than 10 per cent of utes registered as work vehicles

Friday, 9 July 2021

Exemptions to fringe benefit tax for work vehicles could be reviewed, as the policy may encourage the purchase of utes.

Only nine per cent of utes on the road in New Zealand are registered as work vehicles, according to figures from the New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA).

Of the 472,424 utes registered, nearly 429,000 of them were registered as personal passenger vehicles.

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Motor Industry Association (MIA) chief executive David Crawford refuted the figures, and said his own organisation’s estimate put the percentage of utes used for work purposes by the likes of farmers and tradies at 70 per cent.

Kiwis’ affinity for utes have been highlighted in recent times, after estimates emerged that registering a new or used pickup would cost an extra $3000 from 2022 under new government rules.

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The MIA’s analysis relies on data from new car sales, which suggests for the last four years between 70 and 73 per cent were sold to companies.

The data did not show what type of company had purchased the vehicles, or whether it was purchased as an essential utility vehicle.

Crawford said the data did not show whether second-hand utes were sold more often to individuals or companies.

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In the aftermath of Government announcing its Clean Car standard, Kiwis reportedly flocked to buy popular pickups like the Ford Ranger and Toyota Hilux.

On releasing its data, the NZTA defined utes broadly as any vehicle registered as a goods car, truck, utility or passenger car or van with a vehicle body type listed as ‘utility’, which could include larger vehicles over 3.5 tonnes.

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“A vehicle may be used for a purpose other than the recorded vehicle usage type,” an NZTA spokesman said.

“This is therefore only an estimate and cannot necessarily be interpreted as what the current registered person uses the vehicle for.”

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Transport Minister Michael Wood declined to comment on the NZTA figures, but said the government had already refused to allow a n exemption for ute owners under the Clean Car Discount scheme.

He did not comment on the disparity between industry and government figures, or provide data used to inform the governments new Clean Car policy.

Federated Farmers climate change spokesman Andrew Hoggard said his organisation was still advocating for farming utes to be exempt from the new charges.

He said even if a ute was registered as a personal vehicle, if it was on a farm, it was doing work.

“In the case of our ute it never really goes on farm much but it’s picking up supplies from town, it’s taking in the calves to sales, etc.”

Federated Farmers had no estimates for what percentage of utes were used as work vehicles.

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Sean Goddard runs the W eekend Warriors 4x4 Instagram page, receives sponsorship for building and showcasing modified pickups, and spends most weekends off-roading.

He disagreed with the government’s decision to charge owners more when registering a ute in New Zealand before there was a viable electric alternative on the market.

“It’s my passion and my hobby, and I love doing it. It not that we aren’t using them for the right reasons – we are using them for the right reasons. We’re four-wheel driving,” he said.