"Less efficient cars burn more fuel and burning more fuel costs more money. Families will be paying the price every time they fill up," says Julie Anne Genter, Green Party spokesperson for transport.  

"With petrol prices spiking, the last thing the Government should be doing is removing the one standard that encourages importers to bring in vehicles that are cheaper to run.  

"This decision is not being made in the interests of New Zealand consumers. It is being made in the interests of the motor vehicle industry.  

"Australia introduced its own vehicle efficiency standard just six months ago. Two-thirds of car makers are meeting their targets and vehicle prices have fallen in real terms.  

"If New Zealand abandons its standard now, we become the market where high-emitting vehicles that can no longer be sold in Australia end up instead.  

"This Government scrapped the Clean Car Discount, gutted the Clean Car Standard in November, and is now considering abolishing it altogether.  

"The Clean Car Discount created the demand for low-emission vehicles that allowed importers to meet the Standard. Without it, EV purchases collapsed from one in five to one in 13.   

“Now the Government wants to go further by removing the only standard we have left.  

"Climate action and reducing the cost of living go hand in hand," says Genter.