Originally reported by Newshub, the New Zealand Government has paid out approximately $33 million worth of Clean Car Rebates (CCRs) to Tesla 3 owners across the country.
Teslas have quickly become some of New Zealand’s most popular electric vehicles; the Model Y was one of the country’s best sellers in August and September.
With more EV sales come more discounts, and so too a Government rethink as to how much the scheme will provide going forward.
The issue comes as Tesla vehicles are considered as a more luxurious option than that of more affordable EVs like the Nissan Leaf.
It’s worth mentioning that Teslas weren’t the most popular EV to receive the subsidy as Leaf counted 4233 (the vast majority being used imports) whereas the Model 3 had just 3852.
While a total of $16 million was paid to Leaf buyers, Model 3 owners were given $33 million.
“This is a reverse Robin Hood scheme. It takes money from farmers and tradies through the ute tax and gives it to people who can already afford to buy Teslas,” National Party transport spokesperson Simeon Brown said.
Approximately $62.8 million has been generated in clean car fees while a total of $95 million has been paid out to clean car owners, rendering the scheme’s revenue-neutral intent false.
According to Newshub, the Government plans to rebalance the scheme by matching the fees with the subsidies.
Whether the fees will be raised or the discounts lowered is unknown.
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