Clean Car Package revs up with RUC exemption extension

To further encourage the uptake of electric vehicles to reduce emissions, the Government has extended the Road User Charges (RUC) exemption for light electric vehicles saving Kiwis around $800 a year, Transport Minister Michael Wood announced today.

Electric vehicles are exempt from paying road user charges that normally apply to vehicles that don’t pay for petrol at the pump. This exemption has been extended until 31 March 2024 as part of the Government’s Clean Car Package.

“Our Government is continuing to take action to tackle transport emissions to meet our 2050 carbon neutral target – part of this is helping Kiwis into cleaner cars,” Michael Wood said.

“New Zealanders can save about $800 per year with this exemption, giving them another reason to make the switch to an electric vehicle. Given charging your electric vehicle at home off-peak is like buying petrol at around 40c/litre, there are huge savings to be made.

“The Clean Car Discount is also helping with the upfront cost of getting an electric vehicle, with Kiwis getting up to $8,625 back in the hand.

“While the Clean Car Discount is providing support to those purchasing zero emission cars now, the exemption continues to provide support for those who bought one before the Discount was announced.

“We’re doing the work to make sure Kiwis can have confidence to make the switch by giving the Low Emission Transport Fund nearly four times the funding by 2023 to continue to grow the nationwide EV charging network. Electric vehicle chargers are already available every 75km along most state highways.

“Given there are over five times the number of electric vehicles registered on our roads since we came to office, and this is likely to grow even faster with our new policies, we will need to look closely at any further extensions to the exemption for light electric vehicles,” Michael Wood said.