The parties negotiating to form the next government should listen to the public's support for the Clean Car Discount as new figures show Kiwis bought 25,000 EVs in the past year, says Rob Birnie of the Better NZ Trust.

According to the latest monthly statistics from the Ministry of Transport, a record 24,948 pure electric vehicles were registered in the past 12 months, along with over 88,000 hybrids.

"In the past year, Kiwis bought a record 25,000 EVs. These numbers have been driven by the Clean Car Discount, which provides subsidies of $7,015 for new EVs. This policy is delivering, and the incoming government should pledge to keep it in place," says Rob Birnie.

"In total, these 25,000 vehicles will save around 20m litres of petrol and 50,000 tonnes of emissions every year that they are on the road. But there is plenty more work to do - cars stay on the roads for decades, and 98% of the fleet still burns fossil fuels.

"Getting rid of the Clean Car Discount would put the handbrake on EV uptake, leading to New Zealand paying to import more oil and emitting more greenhouse gases.

"The Clean Car Discount has made New Zealand a world leader in EV uptake, saving the country money and reducing our CO2 emissions, as well as other pollution. It would be a mistake for the incoming government to put us into reverse when we've come so far," says Rob Birnie.

© Scoop Media