Government keeps Clean Vehicle Standard, but will reset targets for 2028
Last Updated on August 26, 2026
The Government has decided to keep the Clean Vehicle Standard for new and used vehicle imports, after a review found scrapping it would be more disruptive to the car industry than fixing its settings.
Transport Minister Chris Bishop announced the decision through Beehive.govt.nz, saying officials will now work with the vehicle industry to recalibrate the Standard’s targets so they’re “realistic and achievable,” with new settings to take effect from 1 January 2028.
What the Standard does
The Clean Vehicle Standard sets annual carbon dioxide emissions targets for vehicles brought into New Zealand, with the targets tightening each year. Importers who bring in vehicles that exceed their target face charges, while those whose vehicles perform better than target earn credits. Importers can choose whatever mix of vehicles they want to sell, but they need enough lower-emission vehicles in that mix to offset the higher-emission ones, or they end up paying net charges.
Why the settings were under review
Bishop said it became clear last year that the Standard’s targets weren’t matching market conditions. Most importers were struggling to meet the passenger vehicle targets, and those charges were at risk of flowing through to buyers as higher car prices and fewer choices on the lot.
In response, the Government made short-term changes in 2025 to take pressure off importers and keep vehicle prices in check for households and businesses. At the same time, it promised a full first-principles review of the scheme, the first stage of which was completed earlier this year.
That review concluded the Standard remains the most cost-effective way to get more low-emission vehicles into the New Zealand fleet. Most industry stakeholders who took part in the review backed keeping it rather than scrapping it.
Industry feedback shaped the decision
According to Bishop, industry submitters pointed out that the scheme is now well established, with importers having built up credits and charges over time under its rules. Pulling the plug on it now, they argued, would cause significant disruption across the vehicle industry.
That feedback appears to have weighed heavily on the final call. Rather than removing the Standard, the Government has opted to retain it while adjusting the settings, including creating separate targets for used vehicle imports to account for their older technology compared with new vehicles.
What happens next
Officials will consult with the vehicle industry over the coming months on where the new targets and settings should land. Bishop said that work is due to report back early next year, ahead of the new rules coming into force on 1 January 2028.
For Auckland’s car buyers and importers, who make up a large share of the national vehicle market, the outcome means the emissions-based charge and credit system isn’t going away. But the specific targets that determine which vehicles attract charges, and how steep those charges are, will be reworked before they bite again in just over two years.
Source: Beehive.govt.nz.
Photo: “San Francisco architecture” by dalecruse, CC BY 2.0, via Openverse.
