New Zealand electric car owners to be fined for not paying road-user charge – Drive

From 31 May 2024 electric vehicle owners in NZ must have an EV licence or face financial penalties.

New Zealand electric vehicle (EV) owners have just hours left to register for a road-user charge licence or risk hefty fines.

From 31 March 2024, any electric car and plug-in hybrid vehicle (PHEV) weighing less than 3500kg will be required to pay the new tax with the grace period set to end today, 31 May 2024.

After today, drivers without a road-user charge (RUC) licence will be slapped with roadside fines by police of around $200 for an individual, as well as handed an invoice backdated to 1 April, and given a penalty for late payment.

According to the NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi, one third of the countrys roughly 105,000 EV owners still have yet to register.

If you havent already bought your licence, nows the time to do it, said Tara Macmillan, Head of Strategic Regulatory Programmes at NZTA in a statement.

Its an offence for a RUC vehicle to not have a current and valid RUC licence. We hold details of all EVs and PHEVs in our system, so well know who hasnt bought their first licence and will be following up directly.

Every time a vehicle goes for a warrant of fitness, well also get the odometer reading which means we can match that to any unpaid RUC so buy your RUC licence if you want to avoid any large bills.

The charge has been introduced to try to recoup revenue lost from the petrol excise, the New Zealand Government said, with EVs and PHEVs having been exempt from the RUC since 2009.

Traditional hybrid and mild-hybrid vehicles as well as electrified vehicles weighing more than 3500kg will remain exempt from the road-user tax until 1 January 2026.

However, government officials have admitted all vehicles will eventually be required to pay the distance-based charge.

The cost of the RUC is based on distance travelled, with a starting point of $76 for 1000km for an EV and $38 per 1000km for a PHEV the latter being cheaper because plug-in hybrids also pay tax through the fuel excise.

On top of this there is a $12.44 admin fee for paying online, or $13.71 for doing it through an agent in person.

Owners need their number plate and current odometer reading ready to register, with the licence to be displayed in a pouch on the vehicles windscreen as New Zealand still requires drivers to display registration details.

Originally from the UK, Kathryns working background in journalism is more red-top tabloid than motoring. A born-and-bred newshound, Kathryn has worked her way up through the ranks reporting for, and later editing, two renowned UK regional newspapers and websites, before moving on to join the digital newsdesk of one of the worlds most popular newspapers The Sun. More recently, shes done a short stint in PR in the not-for-profit sector, telling the stories of adults and children with terminal and life-limiting illnesses.

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New Zealand electric car owners to be fined for not paying road-user charge - Drive