Covid-19: 'Ute tax' delayed until April as a result of Delta outbreak

Wednesday, 22 September 2021

The so-called ute tax has been delayed until April 1 as a result of the Delta outbreak.

The penalty under the Clean Car Discount Package will make the likes of the Toyota Hilux, Ford Ranger, and other high-polluting pickups roughly $3000 more expensive to register for Kiwi roads.

Transport Minister Michael Wood said the delay would help give the industry more time to adapt. The changes are still reliant on legislation being passed.

The current rebates on electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles meanwhile would continue until March 31 next year.

**READ MORE:

* What exactly does the Clean Car Discount mean for car buyers?

* Hyundai NZ boss: Euro 6 could cripple industry

* Feebate: Huge uptick in electric vehicle and plug-in hybrid sales in early weeks of new scheme

**

The Land Transport (Clean Vehicles) Amendment Bill is aimed at helping drive down transport emissions by discouraging the registration of new or freshly imported high-emitting vehicles and encouraging the purchase of electric and plug-in hybrid alternatives.

It passed its first reading on Tuesday and is key to delivering the Government’s Clean Car Package.

Wood said countries and car manufacturers around the world were shifting to cleaner cars and New Zealand had to move quickly to stop itself becoming a dumping ground for the world’s dirtiest vehicles.

He said the current Delta outbreak meant Parliament had not been able to resume passing legislation until recently, so the bill has been delayed.

“We felt it was important to still give the select committee and submitters time to consider it. It will also give the vehicle import sector more time to prepare to implement reporting for the Clean Car Import Standard and labelling for the Clean Car Discount,” he said.

“It also helps bring us into line with most other countries in the OECD, which already have import emission standards.”

Wood said funding allocated in Budget 2021 would be more than enough to continue to cover the Clean Car Discount until the full regime came into force.

“Clean Car Import Standard reporting will also begin later in 2022 and the full scheme will still come into force on January 1, 2023,” he said.

Greenpeace climate campaigner Amanda Larsson said transport was New Zealand’s fastest growing source of carbon emissions and the sluggish progress was a “symptom of politics”.

“It is really disappointing to hear that the next phase of the Clean Car Scheme – which has already seen so many delays – will be bumped once again.

“When it comes to the climate crisis, you can’t negotiate with physics. There is no time for more excuses.”

Federated Farmers has previously objected to the additional fees for utes and other high-polluting vehicles.

Spokesman Andrew Hoggard said the concern was still around a lack of suitable alternatives and a few extra months without the additional expense would not make much of a difference.

He said the additional time may encourage some to make a last-minute ute purchase before penalties came in.

Currently, less than 10 per cent of utes in New Zealand are registered as work vehicles.

The penalty on utes was one of the key drivers of recent farmer protests, co-ordinated by Groundswell NZ. Groundswell is currently planning another protest on November 21.

As of July 1 this year, new car buyers received a rebate of $8625 on any electric vehicle (EV) under $80,000 including GST and on-road costs, or a discount of $5750 on any plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV) of the same value.

Prior to the changes, a slide scale based on CO2 emissions was planned to kick in from January 1, which would include low emission vehicles, such as hybrids, with the maximum discount remaining $8625 for a zero-emission vehicle under the $80,000 cutoff and decreasing based on CO2 emissions.

Minister of Climate Change James Shaw said this legislation would help us move more meaningfully towards cleaning up New Zealand’s light vehicle fleet.

A select committee will report back in early February and the remaining stages of the bill will be considered through that month.

A spokeswoman for Toyota NZ said the company had its best order month for Hiluxs the week immediately following the Government announcement, when normal order rates doubled.

“However, since then it has settled back to normal levels which is about 30-35 per cent of our overall order,” she said.

“We are currently experiencing delays across our range due to ongoing global supply and production disruption.”

Some had cancelled their orders due to the delays but most were prepared to wait, she said.