The country is targeting 64,000 EVs on its roads by 2021, supported by a $1m annual promotional campaign targeting consumers and ambitions to drive bulk uptake among public and private sector fleets.

Road User Charges will be extended for light-duty EVs and introduced for heavy-duty vehicles, until these make up 2% of the total parc. Access to high-occupancy vehicle and bus lanes on the State Highway network and local roads will also be available, similar to incentives in Norway and New Zealand.

A national charging network will also be rolled out, with funding for projects developing EV technology within New Zealand.

Transport Minister, Simon Bridges, said the country is well-suited to electric vehicle use, with more than 80% of its electricity coming from renewables, a low average mileage and 85% of homes featuring off-street parking.

“The benefits of increasing uptake of electric vehicles are far-reaching,” he said. “They’re cheaper to run than petrol or diesel vehicles, they’re powered by our abundant renewable electricity supply, and they’ll reduce the amount of emissions that come from the country’s vehicle fleet.”