Timing ‘tight’ to prepare for standard

Industry association welcomes two key policy changes to the government’s regulations for the clean car system.

The Motor Industry Association (MIA) has described the government’s release of regulations for the clean car standard (CCS) as “better late than never” and warns the time for industry to get ready for the new system has become “compressed”.

David Crawford, chief executive, had previously said the new-vehicle sector needed clarification on policy settings no later than the end of October in order for members to be ready for the full implementation of the CCS from January 1.

The government detailed the long-awaited final rules for the legislation on November 1. Importers of new and used light vehicles now have until the start of December to register carbon dioxide (CO2) accounts with Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency.

“It’s really tight but better late than never,” says Crawford, pictured. “There’s a soft launch of the regulations this week. Companies that make up the VIA working group and the MIA working group have been invited to set up accounts under the pay-as-you-go system.

“We obviously couldn’t submit the information to be fleet average until we saw the regulations, so they have cut it really fine.

“All other importers, new and used, can set up accounts from November 7. Those that will be setting up a fleet-average account need the regulations to understand what information they need to support their application.”

Crawford says MIA members needed the final details from the government because how their trading structures are set up is complicated. There have to be discussions with parent offices around the legal obligations and how best to set up accounts, including what brands may be grouped together.

“It also requires a brand’s head office to approve its distribution arms in New Zealand setting up accounts and those discussions usually take a couple of weeks to go through,” he notes.

“The timing now is very tight, but we’re pleased to see the final regulations are out. It means we can complete our business planning to meet the requirements of the clean car standard.”

Crawford says Waka Kotahi also still has a number of IT system processes to roll out as part of the CCS to ensure everything works properly once the system is fully operational.

At present, he notes some of the agency’s CCS processes are automated and other parts are manual.

“We much prefer automated processes, but the NZTA has measures in place to manage the manual elements. While we’re not entirely happy, we are satisfied they’re doing as much as they can to make it easier for us.

“The regulations coming out so late have impacted on the ability for the NZTA to have systems ready in time. The window for the agency and industry to prepare for the implementation of the standard has become compressed.”

Key changes

Despite the tight timeframe, Crawford says there appears to be no “nasty surprises” in the regulations. He notes the final version of the rules have also been partially reordered and are more concise than the government’s draft version – “the flow is easier to understand and follow”.

He is also pleased from a policy point of view that two changes have been made in the regulations following lobbying by the MIA.

The first is in section nine about information on the formulae for the average tare weights and on the slope limit line, which will need to be amended occasionally as emissions targets and the make-up of the fleet changes.

“In the draft regulations they said they would give us six months’ notice of any change,” adds Crawford. “We lobbied for nine months because of how we order and confirm cars being brought into the country.

“They have given us eight months to provide more notice of changes, which is not as much as we wanted but is better than what was initially proposed.”

The other area that has been amended in the regulations is on the confidentiality of plans submitted to government for fleet-average account holders, who will have to submit a detailed plan each year to government.

Crawford explains: “Under the draft, they were proposing to make a lot of the information publicly available but knowledge of what vehicles are arriving and when is commercially sensitive intellectual property. We asked that plans remain confidential and not publicly available because of this.

“They have now tightened up what cannot be disclosed to the public, or competitors, and we’re pleased to see that. It means the government will get more detailed plans from importers and information about changes to the fleet because importers know commercially sensitive information will not be released.”

New technology

The association is also updating its MIA Model Information (MIAMI) system to support the CCS and link members’ vehicles to the CO2 accounts.

“We are adding a module to MIAMI called VIN Upload and that will go live from December 1 and applies for light vehicles, heavy vehicles and road-going motorcycles,” says Crawford.

“For light vehicles caught by the CCS, it will ensure there’s a proper linkage between the uploading of VINs and the CO2 accounts. There’s a lot going on behind the scenes to support the clean car standard and make sure it works.

“It is a good enhancement for the MIAMI system that will make it easier in the long run for importers.”