The Motor Industry Association is welcoming the release of the updated Health and Air Pollution in New Zealand (HAPINZ) report.

MIA principal technical advisor Mark Stockdale said the report shows that more can be done to reduce harmful emissions from the current vehicle fleet.

“The main problem is caused by emissions from existing older vehicles, so focussing on the uptake of electric and low-emissions vehicles is the quickest route to improve air quality as they replace older internal combustion engine vehicles,” he said.

“Where that’s not feasible, the MIA would support a timely transition to higher vehicle exhaust emission standards which would help play a small part in improving air quality.”

The MIA said a transition needs to be managed so it does not adversely disrupt the supply of a large number of new cars, including some low-emissions models.

“Moving from Euro 5 to Euro 6 emissions standards for new petrol vehicles offers no improvement in air quality outcomes,” said Stockdale.

“While there is an improvement in air quality from moving from Euro 5 to Euro 6 for new diesel vehicles, over 60% of new light vehicles sold are petrol-engined.”

Stockdale says since the last updated HAPINZ report was published in 2012, the vehicle fleet has grown by nearly a million vehicles, up from around 720 vehicles per 1000 people in 2012 to over 800 per 1000 today.

“In the last decade, over 1.2 million used vehicles have been imported, which only needed to meet an equivalent Euro 4 emissions standard compared to Euro 5 for new cars,” he said.

“Unlike transitioning from Euro 5 to 6, there is an improvement in air quality by moving from Euro 4 to 5 so it would make sense to update the emissions standards to Euro 5 or equivalent for used imports.

“In 2021 there was a 94% increase in the number of new vehicles sold with some form of electrification, totalling over 25,000. The MIA believes the continued prioritisation of the uptake of new electric and hybrid vehicles will provide the biggest gains in reducing harmful emissions from transport,” Stockdale concluded.