Clean Car regulation Government has diluted and is looking to scrap should be reinstated in full, Drive Electric suggests.

ELECTRIC vehicle lobbyist Drive Electric has today called on Government to u-turn on its thinking about axing legislation designed to enhance interest in frugal and clean cars.

Consideration to entirely scrap the Clean Vehicle (nee Clean Car) Standard, a residue of the previous Labour administration’s effort to create a cleaner new vehicle fleet, is still being mulled by the Chris Bishop, transport minister for the National-led coalition government.

A review was undertaken last month, but the outcome has yet to release.

In mid-July the Motor Industry Association - a voice for almost all new vehicle distributors - recently told MotoringNZ.com it believes something is going on, but at the moment it’s still being kept behind the scenes.

The MIA has said it wants to keep the standard, but also says it needs “recalibration".

Drive Electric, conversely, is calling for a full reinstatement of the CCS in its original format, which provisioned rebates for the purchase of fully electric new cars and electrified - so, mains-replenished plug in hybrids - costing less than $80,000.

Latest argument from the not-for-profit advocacy group is laid out in a letter board chair Kirsten Corson (above) sent to Bishop today and also shared with media.

The action has been prompted by uncertainty about the probability of a renewed spate of price increases in fossil fuel, due renewed conflict in the Middle East.

The United States has intensified military action against Iran, with the Strait of Hormuz – one of the world's most important oil shipping routes - again in jeopardy.

Last week the Automobile Association warned that pump prices will unavoidably rise again.

Corson said Government committing to maintaining and strengthening CCS was timely with prospect that the international situation stood to add significantly to what Kiwis are again set to pay for fuel.

It noted the per litre price of petrol was up 18.6 percent and diesel climbed 42.6 percent in March alone—the largest monthly increases since Statistics NZ began recording this data in 2011. Conversely, NZ has 88 percent renewable electricity.

Drive Electric believes CCS could align with Australia's New Vehicle Efficiency Standard, which the Australian Government has confirmed is delivering results.

She said in the first five months of this year, as pump prices ramped up, demand for electric cars here rose, more tripling in March alone, and registrations of EVs and PHEVs reached 33.6 percent of new light vehicle sales that month.

“Even with RUC now applied across the board to all 138,600 EVs on our roads, running one remains 25-50 percent cheaper than an equivalent petrol car.”

With no domestic refining, NZ depended on Asia for its fuel, spending $7 billion in 2025, rising toward $10 billion in 2026 on imports. Around 60 percent of that transited the Strait of Hormuz, Corson says.

“Combustion vehicles bought today will still be on the road in 15-20 years, locking in that exposure into the 2040s — alongside a $10.5 billion annual social cost from vehicle emissions and a Treasury-estimated $4.4-$6 billion exposure from purchasing offshore carbon credits to meet our Paris Agreement commitments — a bill Treasury's 2023 modelling put as high as $23.7 billion under less favourable conditions.

“We are seeking policies focused on energy resilience and security.

“Repealing the Standard would signal NZ isn't serious about energy resilience and would leave the country more exposed to the next oil shock.”