National will supercharge electric vehicle infrastructure with a comprehensive, nationwide EV network of 10,000 public chargers by 2030. Accelerating the rollout of EV infrastructure, from the 1200 currently available, will give more Kiwis the confidence to make the switch to electric.

Supercharging EV infrastructure is part of National’s plan to rebuild the economy to get it working for all New Zealanders. A strong economy means an end to the cost-of-living crisis, higher incomes, lower mortgage rates, and it means New Zealand can also afford the quality public services we all rely on. 

New Zealanders won’t switch to an EV if they are anxious about whether they will be able to recharge it when and where they need to. But New Zealand now has the fewest public chargers per electric vehicle in the OECD.

National will unleash the transition to an electric transport system by investing in EV infrastructure and cutting red tape to deliver more chargers, in more places, more quickly and more cheaply.

However, National does not believe New Zealanders who can afford a brand-new electric car need a subsidy from taxpayers to buy it. The move to EVs will happen without subsidies as those who can afford new cars choose to reduce their personal carbon footprints and their dependence on fossil fuels. We will therefore end the clean car discount scheme, which is costing taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars.

We will also scrap Labour’s unfair and regressive “ute tax” which taxes the essential work vehicles used by farmers and tradies.

Instead, National will invest in the infrastructure we need, using the highly successful co-investment model National previously used to deliver high speed fibre internet across the country.

Supercharging EV Infrastructure builds on our Electrify NZ policy which will unleash investment in the renewable energy we need to support the transition to EVs.

Read more about Electrify NZ here.