National has pledged to deliver thousands more electric vehicle (EV) chargers around the country – alongside an end to the clean car discount and "ute tax" introduced by the Labour Government – if elected next month.
It comes after the Labour Government's Budget this year pledged to make $120m available over four years for new EV charging stations to be established in partnership with the private sector.
Luxon announced today that National would invest $257 million over four years.
"Around 20 per cent of New Zealand’s total emissions come from transport, so embracing EVs is crucial to delivering our climate change commitments," Luxon said. "Accelerating the rollout of EV infrastructure, from the 1200 currently available to 10,000 in 2030, will give more Kiwis the confidence to make the switch to electric."
Labour came in for criticism in the announcement.
The party leader has vowed to deliver 10,000 new EV chargers but put the brakes on clean car discounts and the 'ute tax' (Source: 1News)
"Under the Labour Government, investment in public EV infrastructure has not kept pace with the rising number of EVs and New Zealand now has the fewest public chargers per electric vehicle in the OECD," Luxon said.
"National will unleash the transition to an electric transport system by investing in EV infrastructure and cutting red tape to deliver more chargers, in more places, more quickly and more cheaply."
The party also plan to slash Labour's Clean Car Discount scheme, and what National calls the "ute tax".
The scheme offers rebates for Kiwis buying EVs and plug-in hybrids, alongside increased charges on high emissions vehicles.
"National does not believe New Zealanders who can afford a brand-new electric car need a subsidy from taxpayers to buy it," Luxon said.
"At the same time, National will scrap Labour's unfair and regressive 'ute tax', which taxes the essential work vehicles used by farmers and tradies, many of whom have no practical option to switch to an EV."
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