Photo: 123RF
It's the best time to buy an EV with the vehicles selling more cheaply than when the rebate scheme was in place, a motoring editor says.
Global sales have slowed, and recently prices for new EVs have been slashed after sales dropped dramatically at the start of the year.
Stuff's motoring editor Matthew Hansen told RNZ Afternoons the ditching of the Labour government's rebate scheme had a lot to do with the drop in sales.
As well there was criticism of increases to ACC levies that will see owners of electric cars paying up to $40 more annually than owners of hybrids or small petrol cars.
In January the government also announced owners of light EVs and plug-in hybrids would have to pay road user charges from 1 April.
There were a lot of EVs on showroom floors around the country, Hansen said.
Some brands had requested extra stock from their head offices around the world when demand was its peak last year, he told Afternoons.
What happened to electric cars?
During the period of the rebate there was a lot more momentum, as consumers had been given "permission" from the previous government to treat themselves to a new EV.
However, the market had changed dramatically from the start of the year.
"People's attitudes have changed and the ironic thing is ...most of these vehicles are cheaper now than they were a year ago even without the discount."
Hansen said it was the best time to buy an EV and he suspected current prices wouldn't last.
"I think a lot of these brands are really struggling to make a profit, to make money out of these cars and they're just trying to get them out of their hair."
The caveat applied to those buyers who went into the EV market early. They may have paid $70,000 to $80,000 for a new vehicle selling now for around $45,000.
"The results for what this means for the resale of these cars is something to be determined but for now, if you're a customer and you've got 40 grand in your pocket the options out there now are much greater than they were 12 months ago."
Internationally, it was " a mishmash" for vehicle brands, he said.
Representatives from Nissan in the US have indicated the brand might only survive another 12 to 14 months because it was in "such dire straits".
It manufactures one of the world's most popular EVs, the Nissan Leaf.
However, rather than focus on EVs, Nissan had put resources into developing hybrids and petrol vehicles, which hadn't worked out well, Hansen said.
"For them to be struggling like this, is an indication that most brands are struggling."
Registration data in New Zealand suggested if dealers weren't selling Toyotas or Ford Rangers, it would be tough trading across the board.
"It's a tough game."
Phasing out petrol vehicles
A Jaguar Photo: PxHere
While there has been talk by some governments around the world of outlawing the manufacture of petrol and diesel vehicles by a certain date, Hansen believed that view was losing traction.
Several conservative governments had been elected recently and they often held a dim view of EVs.
Dealers and voters also did not favour the demise of petrol vehicles.
Some manufacturers had also reversed their policies of phasing out petrol and diesel vehicles.
One of the most interesting examples was Jaguar which had undertaken a well publicised rebrand and a new design.
The brand was at a crossroads. It had announced the phasing out of internal combustion engines and the focus on EVs.
However, the latter had not proved very popular among either "premium" or "mainstream" consumers.
On the purchase of hybrids, Hansen advised consumers to consider carefully how far they travelled daily and how much they spent on fuel weekly.
"There are certainly people out there who have EVs, who love them, those cars fit their lifestyle perfectly. ...Evaluate yourself, evaluate what you do every week, and think to yourself, do I really like spending $120 on this dinojuice I chuck in my car and never see back again?"
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