Big decrease in emissions from new vehicles

28 January 2020

Average greenhouse gas emissions from new vehicles sold last year have dropped at a significantly faster rate than in the previous five years.

Motor Industry Association Chief Executive David Crawford says emissions have dropped from 220.7 grams per km to 174.4 grams per km, an overall drop of 21 percent since 2006 when the MIA began annual recording of average emissions for new vehicles as they enter the fleet.

The rate of reduction has been flat since 2014, but have been accelerating again since 2018 with the 2019 drop of 2.6% being the biggest reduction on one year since 2013.

He says this is a positive trend and is a result of a growing range of models with some form of electrification coming on to the market as well as increasing fuel efficiency across a whole range of new vehicles.

“There has been a significant increase in sales of vehicles with some form of electrification, which include hybrid, plug in electric hybrid and pure battery electric vehicles and this is starting to have a positive impact on our emissions.

“This is certainly an accelerating trend. The rate of reduction in average emissions is heading in the right direction with the biggest drop in emissions coming last year compared to the last five years.”

“Nearly 9000 new vehicles powered by some form of electrification sold in New Zealand last year. That’s a major jump from the previous year when there were fewer than 4000 sold.”

“As the range of brands and models of electric vehicles grows, they’re also becoming more affordable, and more New Zealanders are seeing them as being a viable purchase.”

He says the drop in emissions is also helped by the big volume of small efficient petrol vehicles on the market and increased efficiency across a range of models.

“New Zealand is a fast technology adopter and the popularity of electrified vehicles reflects that.

“We are a tiny market on the global stage and have minimal ability to directly influence manufacturers, but these figures show that we are able to closely follow progressive regions, such as Europe, in reducing emissions from our light vehicle fleet.”

He says the accelerating rate in the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions from the new vehicle fleet calls into question the need for the Government to introduce its proposed clean car policies. However, if the Government feels the need to introduce policies to support the reduction in emission then the proposed clean car discount, which provides rebates to purchasers of fuel-efficient vehicles while attaching penalties to larger less fuel-efficient models, will help reinforce this positive trend.

For more information contact David Crawford tel 027 5698263 or Media Advisor Debra Harrington 021 223 2329

Attached Table of CO2 reductions and web links to the source data

https://www.mia.org.nz/Documents#Environment

Year Average CO2 Emission (Grams/Km) % decrease from previous year Accumulative % decrease by year from 2006 Reduction from Previous year (Grams/Km) Accumulative Reduction by year since 2006 (Grams/Km)
2019 174.4 2.6 21.0 4.7 46.3
2018 179.1 1.3 18.8 2.4 41.6
2017 181.5 0.9 17.8 1.6 39.2
2016 183.1 0.5 17.0 1 37.6
2015 184.1 1.1 16.6 2 36.6
2014 186.1 0.7 15.7 1.4 34.6
2013 187.5 1.5 15.0 2.8 33.2
2012 190.3 3.5 13.8 6.8 30.4
2011 197.1 2.2 10.7 4.5 23.6
2010 201.6 1.2 8.7 2.4 19.1
2009 204.0 3.1 7.6 6.6 16.7
2008 210.6 4.1 4.6 9.1 10.1
2007 219.7 0.5 0.5 1 1
2006 220.7

ends

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