New Zealand EV sales plunge 95 per cent in virus lock-down

The sales of electric vehicles – both full battery and plug in hybrids – plunged dramatically to virtually nothing in the month of April as the local car industry suffered from one of the toughest lock-downs in the world.

New Zealanders were confined to their homes from March 25 and didn’t relax them until late April, presumably giving dealers a  brief opportunity to get a few sales out the door.

But sales of new and used electric vehicles plunged to just 32 in the month, from 480 in the same month a year earlier, and 473 in March, which for the last week was affected by the lockdown. Total sales had been averaging well over 500 for the last 12 months, including a peak of 1,010 last September with the arrival of the Tesla Model 3.

But in the latest month, just 16 new full battery electrics were registered, with Hyundai Kona adding eight to take its running total of 593, and the Tesla Model 3 adding four to take its total of 813.

There were two Kia e-Niros, one VW e-Golf and one LDV V80 electric van.

Used battery electrics amounted to just 12, with nine Nissan Leafs imports from Japan registered during the month, while there were two new plug-in hybrid registrations and two used plug-in sales.