There is a difference between making noise and being heard. That distinction matters in the current debate over the Clean Car Standard, where good intentions risk being lost amid competing narratives. A recent Select Committee hearing highlighted how easily policy discussion can blur the line between New Zealand’s new and used vehicle markets, when both operate under entirely different conditions.

New Zealand’s transport emissions policy has largely been transplanted from countries that manufacture vehicles domestically and where older vehicles are shunted to neighbouring nations. They are markets where the Clean Car Standard model works because manufacturers can produce, plan, and trade credits across their own fleets.

New Zealand, by contrast, relies completely on imported vehicles (and, historically, half of these imports have been used vehicles from Japan). Our sector serves around 70 per cent of private buyers, providing affordable mid-life vehicles that replace older, higher-emitting ones. When regulation treats both sectors as the same, the consequences are immediate: rising prices, shrinking choice, and a slower turnover of the national fleet.

For example, dealers who specialise in sub-$10,000 vehicles are already reporting higher prices and limited availability. The flow of used imports has slowed sharply, pushing up costs across the board. Families who might once have upgraded are now holding on to older vehicles longer. The outcome is a fleet that ages faster and emits more, which is precisely the opposite of what the policy intended.

The difference between new and used becomes even clearer under the Clean Car Standard’s credit system. New-vehicle distributors can bank credits or offset penalties through model mix planning, but used-vehicle importers cannot. They must source what Japan built nine or ten years ago, and the supply of no- or low-penalty vehicles at affordable prices is limited. When targets tighten faster than the available stock, imports fall, and with them, the capacity to refresh the fleet.

Next year, even mainstream hybrids will begin to attract penalties, further reducing the availability of affordable family-sized vehicles.

That shift demonstrates how rapidly the settings have outpaced market realities. Policies intended to reward cleaner choices are now penalising the vehicles that ordinary households depend on.

Affordability is already under pressure.

VIA’s recent analysis shows that average used-import prices have risen around 30 per cent since 2022, with hybrid models up nearly 40 per cent. Part of this increase stems from regulatory misalignment between Japanese and European emissions standards, which has excluded large volumes of viable, low-emission vehicles from Japan. The result is a smaller supply pool and higher auction prices before vehicles even reach New Zealand.

Being heard in this policy conversation means bringing evidence and workable solutions to the table. VIA’s position is that emissions reduction and affordability are not competing goals. They should instead coexist if the transition is to succeed.

The Association has three clear asks of the Government:

1. Create separate targets for used imports that reflect real supply from Japan and protect affordability for private buyers.
2. Remove the weight adjustment, which currently penalises smaller, lower-emission vehicles while favouring heavier ones.
3. Base emissions equivalency rules on outcomes, not labels, so that Japanese-standard vehicles with proven low emissions are recognised on equal terms.

These changes would align ambition with reality. The Clean Car Standard can still play a central role in reducing transport emissions, but only if it enables fleet renewal rather than constraining it. Without that adjustment, policy will continue to make noise while the opportunity for genuine progress slips further out of reach.