Devdiscourse News Desk| Wellington | New Zealand
The Government is proposing to make electric, hybrid and fuel-efficient vehicles more affordable so New Zealand families can choose a vehicle that's better for the climate and their back pocket.
"The cars, utes, and vans we use every day are also the fastest-growing source of harmful climate pollution and account for nearly 70 percent of our transport emissions," said Associate Transport Minister Julie Anne Genter.
"Most Kiwis want to buy a car that's good for the environment, but tell us the upfront cost and limited choice makes it a challenge.
"This is about making cleaner cars a realistic choice for more New Zealanders – by reducing the upfront cost of electric, hybrid and fuel-efficient vehicles when sold in New Zealand for the first time.
"Discounts will be financed in the fairest way possible - by putting a small fee on the highest polluting vehicles when they're sold in New Zealand for the first time. This means people will still have a choice while contributing to the task of cleaning up the vehicles coming into New Zealand.
"New Zealanders have also told us they want more climate-friendly vehicles to choose from, so we're also proposing that vehicle suppliers be required to import more fuel-efficient vehicles every year.
"Vehicles already registered in New Zealand would be exempt from these policies when on-sold in the second-hand market – so more than 70 percent of vehicles sold each year won't be affected by these proposals.
"These changes would prevent more than 5 million tonnes of dangerous climate pollution going into our atmosphere and would make a major contribution to meeting New Zealand's climate targets.
"The benefits of these policies would flow on into the second-hand market as more fuel-efficient hybrid and electric vehicles are sold on.
"These policies are expected to save the country more than $3.4 billion in fuel and result in fuel savings of more than $6,800 over the lifetime of an average vehicle".
(With Inputs from New Zealand Government Press Release)
{{#Source}}{{Source}}{{/Source}}{{#IsBlog}}
{{Disclaimer}}
{{/Disclaimer}}