Government Keeps the Car Emissions Rule, but Won't Set New Targets Until 2028
The Government will keep the Clean Vehicle Standard, a rule that charges car importers for bringing high-polluting vehicles into New Zealand, Transport Minister Chris Bishop has confirmed.
The decision follows a review launched earlier this year that included an option to scrap the rule entirely. Had it been scrapped, New Zealand would have been one of just two OECD countries without a vehicle emissions standard, the other being Russia. RNZ
Bishop said the review found the standard was "the most cost-effective way to increase the availability of lower-emissions vehicles in New Zealand." Most of the motor industry supported keeping some version of the scheme.
The Clean Vehicle Standard was introduced by the previous Labour government. It works like a balancing system. Importers who bring in cars that pollute above a set limit have to pay a fee. If they also bring in cleaner cars, that fee goes down. So an importer whose overall fleet is cleaner pays little or nothing, while one whose fleet is dirtier faces a bigger charge. Right now, importers pay $15 for every gram of emissions over the limit for new vehicles, and $7.50 for used vehicles.
In November 2025, Bishop cut that fee by nearly 80 percent. He said importers were struggling to source enough low-emissions vehicles to balance things out. RNZ reported in March that the government was then considering scrapping the standard altogether, months after that fee cut. RNZ
The government has not yet decided on new emissions limits. Bishop said officials will work with the motor industry to come up with settings that are "realistic and achievable." Officials are due to report back early in 2027, with new targets taking effect from 1 January 2028. A spokesperson for Bishop confirmed the current settings will stay in place until then.
The government has also agreed to set different emissions targets for used vehicle imports, because they have different and older technology than new vehicles.
Under the original plan, the limits were set to get tougher from 1 January 2026 — down to 108 grams of CO₂ per kilometre for passenger vehicles and 207 grams for commercial vehicles, according to a Ministry of Transport document. The Ministry of Transport had previously said meeting those 2025 or 2026 targets was unlikely without extra policies.
Australia's experience may have factored into the government's thinking. Australia brought in its own vehicle emissions limits late last year, and the first six months of data showed emissions had dropped and most importers were able to meet the standard.
The broader context here is one of a policy that has been through a lot of change. The Clean Vehicle Standard is part of a wider set of measures aimed at cutting transport emissions. The previous government's Clean Vehicle Discount and vehicle emission standards led to a 300 percent increase in the import of electric vehicles, according to a 2022 ministerial speech. The current coalition government removed the Clean Vehicle Discount early in its term, then cut the standard's penalty fees, then opened a review that considered scrapping it entirely. Keeping the standard means it survives, but the big question — what the new targets will actually look like, and whether they will be tougher or weaker than before — is put off for now. With officials not reporting back until early 2027 and new targets not taking effect until 2028, the scheme will keep running as it is, with the reduced fees Bishop set last November, for at least another year.
The decision also leaves New Zealand with a vehicle emissions standard that is weaker than the one Labour put in place, but still standing. The question for the motor industry, climate advocates, and opposition parties will be whether the 2028 targets bring back the scheme's original ambition or make the lower settings the new normal.
