WELLINGTON, May 2 (Reuters) – Buyers of low-emission electric cars will be favored as New Zealand’s government expands its car rebate scheme to further boost sales of green vehicles, it said on Tuesday.
Transport Minister Michael Wood said in a statement that the rebates would be scaled back to focus on more fuel-efficient cars. Incentives will improve for some cars, but fees will increase for vehicles with higher emissions.
The government’s next budget will increase the scheme’s allocation by NZ$100 million, he said.
The original scheme boosted sales of new electric cars, with demand for low-emission vehicles higher than expected.
“With more than 100,000 rebates granted since the scheme came into effect in 2021, we currently have one of the fastest uptakes of electric vehicles in the world,” Wood said.
20% of all new car sales were electric by 2022, up 8% from 2021, it added.
“The scheme is now also projected to reduce emissions by 3.4 million metric tonnes by 2035. That’s an extra 50% by 2035 beyond what was predicted when it started,” Wood said.
Reporting by Lucy Craymer; Edited by Richard Chang
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