Greens say EV drivers being ripped off, as data reveals they will pay double some petrol vehicles

From April 1, EV and plug-in hybrid drivers will have to pay road user charges (RUCs), joining other drivers in having to cover the costs of using the road.

But, in what looks like a bad April Fool’s joke, the Green Party has discovered drivers of EVs and plug-in hybrids will be paying more to use the road than people driving fossil fuel cars.

Someone driving a battery EV on a return trip between Wellington and Auckland (presumably with lots of charging stops) will pay $98.80 in RUC and a driver of a plug-in hybrid Toyota Prius would pay $94.78, comprised of $72.80 in RUC and $21.98 in petrol taxes.

These figures are more than double what a driver of a Toyota Prius, non-plug-in conventional hybrid would pay for that journey, which would be just $42.92 in petrol taxes.

The figures come from answers to Written Parliamentary Questions asked by Green Party transport spokeswoman Julie Anne Genter to Transport Minister Simeon Brown. The figures from Brown’s office follow an analysis published by the Herald that EV drivers would pay twice what petrol car owners pay in fuel tax.

Genter told the Herald EV drivers would be “massively overcharged for their road use” under the scheme.

“Ultimately, this is a government that is rushing, they’re trying to do things quickly and the consequence of that is punitive charges for electric vehicles which will further discourage people from buying electric vehicles in the next few years,” Genter said.

Speaking to the figures, Brown said there were “variances throughout the system and that is why we have started work to move all vehicles to the road-user charges system so people pay based on distance travelled and vehicle weight rather than the type of fuel that is used”.

“We think that is a far fairer way to charge, and that is where we are heading,” Brown said.

The Government, in the much longer term, will shift all drivers to RUCs, although this appears to be some way off.

The new Government has already scrapped subsidies for the purchase of EVs and plug-in hybrids, the Clean Car Discount. Following the changes, purchases of EVs went from one in four new vehicles purchased in 2023 to one in 26 in the first month of this year, according to an analysis by Newsroom.

“Price and model variety are the key barriers to purchasing EVs. For new EVs, prices have fallen significantly, and model variety has greatly expanded from 30 EVs and PHEVs in 2019 to 152 as at June 2023. New models continue to be announced for entry into the New Zealand market, including as recently as this week,” Brown said.

He said EVs would become more popular, despite this week’s data.

Genter slammed the Government’s moves on EVs, warning that it was locking in “15 to 20 years” of emissions as the cars imported today will continue to be driven for many years.

“The combined impact of getting rid of the Clean Car Discount and essentially overcharging EV road use relative to petrol vehicles will mean that we import more petrol vehicles relative to EVs and it will lock in years and years of emissions,” Genter said. “They’re actively disincentivising electric vehicles now.”

Thomas Coughlan is Deputy Political Editor and covers politics from Parliament. He has worked for the Herald since 2021 and has worked in the press gallery since 2018.