Owners of electric vehicles and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles have been reminded to buy their first road user charges licence before the end of this month to avoid being hit with fines.
EVs and PHEVs became subject to road user charges from April 1, 2024, the New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA) said.
Owners have been given until May 31 to buy their first licence. Anyone who fails to do so by the deadline is at risk of receiving a roadside police infringement and an invoice from NZTA backdated to April 1, as well as penalties for late payments.
NTZA head of regulatory programmes Tara Macmillan said the agency is "encouraging people not to leave it to the last minute, as there will be penalties".
"If you haven't already bought your licence, now's the time to do it."
Macmillan said buying a licence is a straightforward process which is "quick and easy" to do online via the NZTA website.
"If online is not an option you can also buy over the counter at an NZTA agent," she said.
"You'll need to have your vehicle's plate number and current odometer reading handy, as well as a way to pay. Once you've bought your RUC we'll send you a pouch to put the licence in — you need to display this on your windscreen in the same way as you do for your vehicle rego."
Motorists buying RUC must pre-pay for the distance they're planning to travel in units of 1000km.
The RUC rate is $76 per 1000km for EVs and $38 per 1000km for PHEVs as they also pay tax through petrol. There is also an admin fee of $12.44 if you buy online, or $13.71 if you buy through an agent.
"Over two-thirds of New Zealand's 105,000 electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids have already bought their RUC licence, which is great to see," Macmillan said.
"We're expecting a surge as we get closer to 31 May, so we encourage people to get onto it now to avoid that last-minute rush."
Everyone who uses New Zealand roads pays their fair share toward the cost of their upkeep. Petrol users pay through tax at the pump and others, such as diesel vehicles, pay in advance by buying RUC. EVs and PHEVs were exempt from RUC from 2009 until March 31, 2024.
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