To be honest, navigating the New Zealand RUC charges and changes for electric vehicles has been a bit of a rollercoaster ride. But fear not, fellow drivers, here’s what we’ve gathered:
Pulled directly from the NZTA website, 19 March 2024:
RUC will apply to light electric vehicles from April.
If you have a light electric vehicle, you’ll need to buy and display a road user charges (RUC) license from 1 April 2024.
The types of electric vehicles that will pay RUC
You’ll need to buy RUC if your vehicle:
• is powered fully or partly from externally supplied electricity, and
• weighs 1001kg–3500kg.
The amount you pay will depend on the type of electric vehicle you have.
Battery electric vehicles (BEVs)
Powered exclusively by electricity, and plugs in to charge.
You’ll pay the usual light vehicle RUC rate of $76.00 per 1000km.
Plug-in petrol hybrid vehicle
Uses both petrol and electricity, and can plug in to charge.
You’ll pay a slightly lower RUC rate of $53.00 per 1000km. This is because you already pay some fuel excise duty when you buy petrol.
Plug-in diesel hybrid vehicle
Uses both diesel and electricity, and can plug in to charge.
You’ll pay the usual light vehicle RUC rate of $76.00 per 1000km.
Hybrid diesel vehicles
Uses both diesel and electricity, but can’t plug in to charge.
You’ll already be buying RUC and paying the usual light vehicle RUC rate of $76.00 per 1000km.
Hybrid petrol vehicles
Uses both petrol and electricity, but can’t plug in to charge.
You won’t need to buy RUC, as you already pay fuel excise duty when you buy petrol.
Very light electric vehicles
These vehicles are powered solely by electricity and weigh less than 1000kg (for example electric motorcycles or mopeds).
You won’t need to buy RUC for these vehicles.
To see the full overview of information, please click here to be taken to the NZTA RUC info page for Electric vehicles.