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

  • Charging station infrastructure boost to electric vehicle use
    July 17, 2012
    The first section of a planned network of stations for charging electric vehicles – the West Coast Electric Highway – opened in March, promising a welcome boost to the environment and economy of Oregon. Pete Goldin reports What should come first, the electric vehicle or the charging station? This dilemma has been hindering proliferation of ‘EVs’ in the US for years. Without a widespread and reliable infrastructure of charging stations, the American public is not likely to adopt EVs en masse. This may all b
    Read More
  • IRD: from the ground up
    September 16, 2021
    IRD is undertaking a comprehensive review of its road safety and monitoring solutions. A series of initiatives is building on the company’s in-pavement expertise, bringing considerable additional value for the customer to the traditional range of products while complementing these with wholly new technologies
    Read More
  • Flexibility, interoperability is key to future traffic management
    February 3, 2012
    Jon Taylor of Faber Maunsell and Tabatha Bailey of Transport for London describe how an unusual mix of traffic practitioners, researchers and industry are working together to build new tools for the future. As we face higher expectations for managing congestion from both citizens and politicians, and as more and more data is becoming available from new sources, our traffic management challenge is changing.
    Read More
  • Harmonisation of Europe's ITS deployment still unbalanced
    January 31, 2012
    Dean Herenda, Chairman of the EasyWay project, talks about the progress made and the progress still to be made in harmonising ITS deployment across the European Union. "The deployment and use of ITS in road transport across Europe was and still is unbalanced" Although Europe can be proud of being home to some of the world's most advanced ITS solutions, the relative disparities between Member States of the European Union (EU) in terms of the extent and technological sophistication of deployments actually sta
    Read More

Highlighted Content