This story was originally published on RNZ.co.nz and will be republished with permission.
The number of registered plug-in electric cars more than doubled over the course of the year by the end of June.
The Motor Industry Association announced that 1,641 battery-powered electric vehicles were registered, compared with just 611 at the same time last year.
CEO David Crawford said the introduction of the clean car discount, which began this month, has encouraged buyers.
Although sales of plug-in hybrids fell slightly, he expected that to change because of the clean car discount.
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There were 1641 battery-powered electric vehicles registered, compared to just 611 at the same time last year.
“I think people have postponed those couple of weeks, and when we release the July numbers in August, I expect EV sales and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles to spike,” he said.
Meanwhile, June was a record month for SUV sales, up 39 percent compared to June last year.
Overall, car registrations skyrocketed in June, but buyers had to wait up to five months to get behind the wheel of their new vehicles.
Figures from the automobile industry association show that in June this year 6,822 more cars were registered than in the previous year, an increase of 82 percent.
Crawford said delivery delays resulted in truck stops having long waiting lists.
“The truck stops are the emptyest I’ve seen in the time I’ve been on this nine-year job. Inventory in the country is currently the lowest I’ve ever seen.”
He said customers waited between three and five months to receive their cars.
This story was originally published on RNZ.co.nz and will be republished with permission.
