As petrol prices are poised to break records, electric car yards are humming.

No matter how attractive EVs are, many drivers require an extra nudge – like painful fuel bills – to make the switch, experts say.

The car salespeople at Auckland City Electric Vehicles are expecting to be busy right through to the end of the year.

But it’s not just petrol prices having an effect, co-owner Nick Jackson said. The National and Act parties’ looming threat to repeal electric car subsidies means buyer interest is particularly high right now.

Petrol prices rose worldwide after oil giants Saudi Arabia and Russia announced they would cut oil production to boost their profits. New Zealand’s falling dollar also meant petrol has returned above $3 per litre – previously seen in July last year. Prices are expected to surpass the all-time high soon.

Jackson said first-time EV customers often mention high fuel prices have inspired their visit. Some aren’t ready to buy, but have questions about fitting an electric car into their lifestyle.

Although a spike in petrol might bring in 15 to 20% more customers, that effect is being “masked” at the moment by the boost from drivers wanting to buy while the Clean Car Discount is still available, Jackson said.

“We’re expecting that to continue right through to December.”

Kirsten Corson, the deputy chair of Drive Electric, said a jump in interest came last year when petrol exceeded $3 a litre.

“We saw a spike in second-hand and new EV sales,” she said. “That did slow down. While the petrol price stayed high, people got used to filling up and paying that price.”

Corson said EVs make even more financial sense with spiralling rents, mortgage payments, groceries and other prices, she said.

According to Drive Electric’s State of the Nation report, published today, the petrol required for the average fossil-fuelled car to travel 100km costs $18.

Fuelling an EV costs a fraction of that, Corson said. “If you’re using a smart charger at home or at work, it’s $5 per 100km. But if you’re really savvy, and you’re charging off-peak, you can pay less than $2.”

A family could also halve their vehicle maintenance bills with an EV, she said. “There’s only about 20 working parts in the engine, as opposed to 2000 in an internal combustion engine.”

A rising fuel price provided a strong incentive for people to ditch a petrol or diesel car, according to University of Waikato researcher Rebecca Sargisson. “Compelling” scientific research showed higher costs was an unpopular, but powerful, way to change behaviour, she said.

Each painful fuel bill will remind a driver of what they could save by going electric. But with the upfront cost of an EV often higher than an equivalent petrol car, not everyone would be able to make the switch, she said.

“The crunch is going to come for all those people in the lower-income brackets who simply can’t afford to do that.”

Purchasing a plug-in car wasn’t the only way people might reduce their petrol bills, and consequently carbon emissions, Sargisson said. Others might downsize their main car, switch to a hybrid, or drive less.

“Some occupations make it possible for you to work from home and we’re seeing a bit more of that… Some people can’t do that.”

The Government could ease the pain of high petrol prices – especially for lower-income families – plus reduce emissions by making green travel more affordable and accessible, Sargisson said.

That could include EV subsidies and funding for charging points but also improved public transport services and safe cycle lanes, because these reduce traffic as well as emissions.

“If, alongside those high petrol prices, the alternatives become good… then you’re going to get an even bigger shift,” she said.

Because Kiwi cities are predominantly built for cars, that can be a harder task, Sargisson said. Cheap and frequent public transport is harder to provide when people and suburbs are spread out.

The Government should retain the Clean Car Discount, Sargisson said.

Corson agreed. The scheme “has been a raging success – and the data tells us that”.

Data from NZTA indicates the discount has had more of an effect of car-buyers’ behaviour. Sales of New Zealand-new gas guzzlers spiked before the fees were introduced and increased, though the number of second-hand, high-emitting cars has fallen overall.

Electric car numbers increased after the discount took effect.

With the scheme encouraging new car owners to choose electric, second-hand buyers would benefit from greener vehicle choices a few years later, Corson said. Used EVs are in very high demand around the world, she added.

While buyer interest was currently high, Jackson said National and Act’s repeal plan made life uncertain for electric car-sellers such as him.

“In the New Year, we just don’t know what’s going to happen.”

Even if they can afford to buy an electric option, some drivers feel stuck with a gas guzzler.

Sargisson said range anxiety remains a problem, and those with large families or who regularly transport a lot of stuff might not feel an EV is suitable.

For those who can downsize, Corson also recommends e-bikes, e-scooters and e-mopeds. These can be used for the third of all journeys Kiwis take under 2km.

“If we think there are cost-savings to be made with a switch to an EV, do the numbers on an e-moped or e-bike.”

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