Does Policy Renew the Fleet?
Vehicle policy is often judged at the border. Does a vehicle meet the required emissions standard? Does it have the prescribed safety technology? Is its gross vehicle mass recorded correctly? Has it …
We are not Norway
Norway is often held up as the shining example of electric vehicle uptake. Fair enough. It has achieved what most countries are still only talking about. In 2025, almost all new cars registered in Nor…
Transport Policy Must Pass the Affordability Test
New Zealanders are being reminded, very directly, that transport policy is not an abstract debate. The current fuel situation shows why. The country is not being told to panic-buy fuel. Official advi…
Read more about 'Transport Policy Must Pass the Affordability Test'...
Better is Better: used imports are productive fleet renewal
New Zealand’s used-import sector is sometimes criticised through the language of “dumping ground”. It is a powerful phrase because it suggests waste, neglect and decay. It implies vehicles being pushe…
Read more about 'Better is Better: used imports are productive fleet renewal'...
Beyond the Plug: Why Transport Policy Must Look at the Whole Fleet
EV chargers are welcome. But they are only one event in the fleet policy pentathlon The Government’s latest EV charger announcement is a useful move. More public charging points will help fill gaps i…
Read more about 'Beyond the Plug: Why Transport Policy Must Look at the Whole Fleet'...
Why Falling Penalties Don’t Mean Cheaper Cars for Kiwis
Recent coverage of the impact of the Government’s decision to relax Clean Car Standard penalty settings has created a simple public expectation: if penalties go down, used car prices should go down to…
Read more about 'Why Falling Penalties Don’t Mean Cheaper Cars for Kiwis'...
Check Engine - low turnover
Turnover is the key to progress: what 2025 tells us about fleet renewal New Zealand doesn’t improve its vehicle fleet by wishing it cleaner and safer. It improves by replacing vehicles. That replaceme…
Why supply still matters for a cleaner, safer car fleet
New Zealand’s transport debate is often framed in stark terms: cut emissions fast, own fewer cars, and shift to EVs as quickly as possible. At the big-picture level, that’s hard to argue with. But th…
Read more about 'Why supply still matters for a cleaner, safer car fleet'...
We're going on an EV hunt
Most people looking at Japan today see EVs everywhere and reasonably ask: “If Japan has hundreds of thousands of EVs on the road, why is it so hard for New Zealand to get second-hand ones – and if pri…