EV (electric vehicle) News and Discussion

Forums › Transport (cars, bikes and boats) › EV (electric vehicle) News and Discussion

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Ultimate Geek
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#3469825 13-Mar-2026 19:03

Prices were definitely coming down until a few weeks ago at least.

I have a friend who recently secured a Model 3 for $29k (with enhanced autopilot (?)- the fancy one that cost $11k as an add-on originally)

That was just before US & Israel started bombing Iranians.

michaelmurfy:

CrashAndBurn:

Am in the market for an EV. I drive 500kms weekly. I have 7kW PV with no battery. Planning to spend max 35K. Saw a 2023 Kia Niro Light (35kNZD with 59k kms) and a 2019 Hyundai Kona (27KNZD with 54k kms) Thoughts? Or other recs

You can also get a Tesla Model 3 for around this price - excellent vehicles, by far the best infotainment systems and no real servicing requirement.

fastbike

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Ultimate Geek
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#3470852 16-Mar-2026 14:32

EV City in Chch down to 1 long range Leaf on their lot. The others are somewhere in the supply chain between the JDM auctions and certification/inspection in NZ.

https://www.evcity.kiwi/vehicles?vehicletype=NissanLeaf62kwh

Otautahi Christchurch

HarmLessSolutions

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#3470853 16-Mar-2026 14:38

fastbike:

EV City in Chch down to 1 long range Leaf on their lot. The others are somewhere in the supply chain between the JDM auctions and certification/inspection in NZ.

https://www.evcity.kiwi/vehicles?vehicletype=NissanLeaf62kwh

Based on discussion I had with a local EV importer and seller last week I imagine many such businesses will have been caught short as they will have had reduced inventory due to sluggish sales so poorly positioned for this increase in interest in EVs.

https://www.harmlesssolutions.co.nz/

fastbike

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Ultimate Geek
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#3470860 16-Mar-2026 15:03

HarmLessSolutions:

fastbike:

EV City in Chch down to 1 long range Leaf on their lot. The others are somewhere in the supply chain between the JDM auctions and certification/inspection in NZ.

https://www.evcity.kiwi/vehicles?vehicletype=NissanLeaf62kwh

Based on discussion I had with a local EV importer and seller last week I imagine many such businesses will have been caught short as they will have had reduced inventory due to sluggish sales so poorly positioned for this increase in interest in EVs.

Yes, a shame NZ have been caught on the hop, again. Although as I have a spare LR Leaf (2022 NZ new) now is good time to sell.

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SaltyNZ

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#3470862 16-Mar-2026 15:05

fastbike:

EV City in Chch down to 1 long range Leaf on their lot. The others are somewhere in the supply chain between the JDM auctions and certification/inspection in NZ.

https://www.evcity.kiwi/vehicles?vehicletype=NissanLeaf62kwh

Heh, you can get MG ZS EVs which don't cook their batteries when you fast charge them for the price they want for those. Including mine...

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Handsomedan

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#3470866 16-Mar-2026 15:14

I can see EV prices skyrocketing if this ME situation continues much longer.

Does beg the question of whether this may help us to reduce emissions over time if start to reduce our reliance on fossil fuels...

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robjg63

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#3470937 16-Mar-2026 16:37

fastbike:

Yes, a shame NZ have been caught on the hop, again. Although as I have a spare LR Leaf (2022 NZ new) now is good time to sell.

Yep. World beating planning from the brains trust again.

I think any idea they come up with, means they should do the opposite.

Nothing is impossible for the man who doesn't have to do it himself - A. H. Weiler

Scott3

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#3470945 16-Mar-2026 17:09

Used EV market has changed massively in the last few weeks.

When I sold my leaf in late 2025 there were around 770 Leaf's listed on trade me. that is down to 284 today.

Count of BEV / PHEV on trade me Dropped from 3400 when I checked some time last week to 3007 today.

Suggest if anybody has an EV that they don't need right now, that it is a good time to sell it. Best the used EV market has been in a few years. 24.

Could also be a good opportunity to upgrade EV. Some Airya trims still have a $20k discount on them. Possible window to exploit the used car market being quicker to respond to the oil situation than the new car market.

exador:

SaltyNZ:

Going to put a deposit on a Seal today, I think. Ever since wife & I decided to try a new strategy of trading in cars while they still work, it's been a question of when (in 2026) rather than if, for the Model 3. Since they announced the first strategic petroleum release this morning I think I might do that now, before there are enough urgent buyers that the dealers start raising prices.

Losing thousands of dollars trading from ICE to EV due to a temporary blip in petrol prices is dumb idea (the general populace, not necessarily you).

Consumer aren't all rational, and this is OK. Will be a bunch of people who were already over the economic threshold to change to EV who decided this was the time to act.

Every time oil is in the news, it is a reminder that it comes from some places with not so nice governments.

And of course there is a heap of uncertainty when it comes to future oil prices. Jumping on an EV is a decent way to protect against future price rises.

And then the concerns about security of supply. There is talk of rationing in the media, but no decisions made on how rationing (if any) will work. A lot of people in NZ are highly dependent on motor vehicles to work / lifestyle / health etc, Having access to an EV mitigates against risk of fuel rationing impact on this. For some this mitigation could be worth thousands of dolars.

deepred

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Ultimate Geek
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#3470953 16-Mar-2026 17:38

Scott3:

Used EV market has changed massively in the last few weeks.

When I sold my leaf in late 2025 there were around 770 Leaf's listed on trade me. that is down to 284 today.

Count of BEV / PHEV on trade me Dropped from 3400 when I checked some time last week to 3007 today.

Suggest if anybody has an EV that they don't need right now, that it is a good time to sell it. Best the used EV market has been in a few years. 24.

Could also be a good opportunity to upgrade EV. Some Airya trims still have a $20k discount on them. Possible window to exploit the used car market being quicker to respond to the oil situation than the new car market.

Used Japanese EVs are our most cost-effective way into the market, but Japan is still to catch on to EVs like the Chinese have (and to a lesser extent the South Koreans). The Japanese seem to prefer hybrids by a long margin.

https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/electric-car-use-by-country

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Scott3

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#3470956 16-Mar-2026 17:42

HarmLessSolutions:

Based on discussion I had with a local EV importer and seller last week I imagine many such businesses will have been caught short as they will have had reduced inventory due to sluggish sales so poorly positioned for this increase in interest in EVs.

Industry will have been quite burnt, and have recent memories from mid to late 2024.

When Ford NZ was selling brand new RWD mach-e for $45k, and the faster than your childhood dream supercar Mach-e Gt for $65k (just an example, other brands were also discounting), It really eats into what cheaper EV brands can charge, and pushes down the value of the Used EV market.

I'm not sure who was carrying the losses, but there would have been some big losses in that era... a bunch of caution is logical after that...

And makes sense they just hold stock for the low sales volume of the time. I don't think sitting on a heap of stock just in case the USA started bombing iran would be a prudent business practice (without the benefit of hindsight of course).

Must be an epic roller coaster for the industry (incl adjacent industry like EVSE installers).

SaltyNZ

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#3470964 16-Mar-2026 17:45

Handsomedan:

Does beg the question of whether this may help us to reduce emissions over time if start to reduce our reliance on fossil fuels...

History suggests ... no. Being totally realistic, there will be a bump in EV sales out of this (and those that buy one will likely never willingly go back, because they're just better in every way). But assuming a) it is over soon rather than turning into a decade-long cluster, and b) prices settle back near where they were when it started, then those that didn't take the leap will breathe a sigh of relief and carry on with no lessons learned.

I can't see the Iranians keeping it shut down for more than several months - sooner or later they will run out of stones to throw as they use them up and can't replenish them because the US and Israel continue bombing Iran into the stone age, like Gaza. Kind of depends on how much serious damage they can do to other countries infrastructure. The Russians manage to keep repairing their facilities even though Ukraine blows them up fortnightly so maybe it won't be years after all.

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Scott3

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#3471025 17-Mar-2026 02:16

deepred:

Used Japanese EVs are our most cost-effective way into the market, but Japan is still to catch on to EVs like the Chinese have (and to a lesser extent the South Koreans). The Japanese seem to prefer hybrids by a long margin.

https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/electric-car-use-by-country

This has been a thing for many years.

NZ is has substantially evolved beyond used Japan import EV's, thanks to the raft of cheap chinese ev's (Can still pick up a brand new MG ZS EV base with an LFP battery for $29,990).

Used import EV's generally make up 10 - 20% of registrations each month. This use to be 80%+.

The demise of the used import EV, is also dropping the market share of the CHAdeMO charge port, which makes cars fitted with that port less attractive to buyers.

Scott3

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#3471048 17-Mar-2026 09:30

BYD has quietly dropped the Dolphin from their NZ lineup (guess it was a bit close to the Atto 2).

shk292

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#3471049 17-Mar-2026 09:47

fastbike:

Yes, a shame NZ have been caught on the hop, again. Although as I have a spare LR Leaf (2022 NZ new) now is good time to sell.

There are currently 1841 electric vehicles for sale on trademe, including 285 Leafs. How many would there need to be to be not “on the hop”?

With the cheapest at around $1k, albeit with very limited battery, it’s apparent that anyone wanting to buy an EV can do so

SaltyNZ

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#3471054 17-Mar-2026 10:07

shk292:

With the cheapest at around $1k, albeit with very limited battery, it’s apparent that anyone wanting to buy an EV can do so

"Limited battery" -- powers on, turtle light comes on when you look at the accelerator pedal? A $1000 Leaf is a lawn ornament.

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