New Zealand offers new benefits for EV owners

Operators of electric vehicles (EVs) in New Zealand are set to benefit from rule changes which will see heavy electric vehicles being exempt from road user charges and potentially allow drivers of electric vehicles to use bus and high occupancy vehicle lanes. From 1 September 2017 heavy EVs will be exempt from road user charges, which otherwise apply to vehicles that do not pay for petrol at the pump, until they make up two per cent of New Zealand’s heavy vehicle fleet. Changes have also been made to Land
August 9, 2017 Read time: 2 mins
Operators of electric vehicles (EVs) in New Zealand are set to benefit from rule changes which will see heavy electric vehicles being exempt from road user charges and potentially allow drivers of electric vehicles to use bus and high occupancy vehicle lanes.

From 1 September 2017 heavy EVs will be exempt from road user charges, which otherwise apply to vehicles that do not pay for petrol at the pump, until they make up two per cent of New Zealand’s heavy vehicle fleet.

Changes have also been made to Land Transport rules, which, from 1 September, will enable road controlling authorities, such as the NZ Transport Agency and local and regional councils, to make bylaws to allow EVs access to special vehicle lanes, such as those dedicated to buses and high occupancy vehicles.

New Zealand has seen positive acceptance of EVs, along with an increase in business opting for EVs as non-passenger vehicles, including light vans for food delivery, public transport and refuse trucks. The Government wants to see this extend to operators of heavy vehicles.

In May 2016, the Government announced its Electric Vehicle Programme, a wide ranging package of measures to encourage the uptake of EVs in New Zealand. The target is to double the fleet each year, reaching 64,000 EV registrations by the end of 2021.

Related Content

  • Sprawl spreads the costs and confines the benefits
    June 8, 2015
    A new report says car-centric planning leads to inefficient cities and divided communities as lead author Todd Litman explains. Between 1950 and 2050 the human population will have approximately quadrupled and shifted from 80% rural to nearly 80% urban; by the middle of this century the United Nations predicts an additional 2.2 billion urban residents in developing countries than there are today. How these cities grow has huge economic, social and environmental impacts and implementing proper policies can c
    Read More
  • Sprawl spreads the costs and confines the benefits
    June 8, 2015
    A new report says car-centric planning leads to inefficient cities and divided communities as lead author Todd Litman explains. Between 1950 and 2050 the human population will have approximately quadrupled and shifted from 80% rural to nearly 80% urban; by the middle of this century the United Nations predicts an additional 2.2 billion urban residents in developing countries than there are today. How these cities grow has huge economic, social and environmental impacts and implementing proper policies can c
    Read More
  • New vehicle technologies ‘could help reduce fatalities on European motorways’
    March 5, 2015
    New safety technologies could play a major role in reducing the numbers killed on European motorways, according to the European Transport Safety Council (ETSC), in a new report published today. The new analysis of developments in motorway safety shows that, despite recent progress, around 1,900 were killed on motorways in the EU in 2013. The report cites figures from several countries showing that up to 60 per cent of those killed in motorway collisions were not wearing a seatbelt. It calls on the EU to req
    Read More
  • IRD complements WIM with tyre under-inflation detection
    May 8, 2015
    To complement its existing WIM offering, IRD has introduced a system to detect under-inflated and flat tyres at highway speeds. Tyre inflation pressure has both safety and economic impacts for road users and none more so than with commercial vehicles. An underinflated tyre has decreased directional control, increased risk of catastrophic failure, and negatively impacts tyre life and fuel economy. In June 2014 the USDOT published Large Truck and Bus Crash Facts 2012 in which the Federal Motor Carrier Safety
    Read More

Highlighted Content