National wants EV owners to pay road user charges

National has made it clear that it will make EV owners pay road user charges if it gets elected later this year.

A recent report from Newshub outlines that the party’s leader, Christopher Luxon, believes it’s unsustainable for owners of electric cars to forgo the cost of using New Zealand’s roads.

He stated that the country won’t be able to generate enough income to support roading infrastructure in conjunction with a growing EV fleet if they are still given a “free pass.”

Instead, he suggests they should pay a road user charge based on the number of kilometres travelled, much like how diesel-powered vehicles currently do.

Luxon also mentioned that National originally wanted drivers to pay road user charges based on how often they used the roads instead of the type of vehicle used.

“Ultimately, for New Zealand to solve its problems, we are going to need to revisit those settings and, actually, get the logic straight and get it fair so that electric vehicles are paying their fair share – given they’re contributing and consuming the roads, essentially, through their daily travel,” the National leader told Newshub.  

The current Labour Government doesn’t require owners of electric cars to pay road user charges after it extended an exemption on them until March 2024. This was done to encourage more people to buy EVs.

The 2023 General Election will take place on Saturday 14 October 2023.