This has always been National's lie - that EVs are the expensive luxury that only the rich buy

But the point is the rich can always buy whatever they want

What the discount made possible was to let middle NZ buy efficient cars that would pay off long-term for them and for AoNZ

March 15, 2026 - 22:17 UTC

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Meanwhile here in reality when you buy a new car you have payments on it along with full coverage insurance. I've never paid over $1,500 for a gas vehicle. My current vehicle cost me less than your monthly car note.
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Retired, but started looking for an EV last year, lots of good buys around then - and now! I have always just charged at home with solar.
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Yep! And since one (1) person now counts as evidence: I know of one youth who saved hard, and tapped the discount to buy a (second-hand) Leaf as their first car.

If the policy had stayed in place, we'd now have 30,000 EVs on the road, ready to be someone else's second-hand first car in a few years.
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I think 30k is an underestimate - because as you get more EVs then you see more charge networks and buying an EV becomes more worthwhile - a virtuous cycle

You also see more used EVs - which can fill out the bottom of the market

And more folks who have real experience and NO range anxiety
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Know a few people that are hardly RICH who picked up a cheap Leaf to basically be a little shopping cart around the Manawatū (PNorth-Filly Metropolis)
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