WELLINGTON — March 23, 2026 — The government will provide repayable loans to accelerate the rollout of around 2,500 new electric vehicle charging stations across New Zealand, Finance Minister Nicola Willis announced yesterday, aiming to reduce “range anxiety” and encourage greater EV uptake.
Speaking on RNZ’s Morning Report this morning in front of a ChargeNet station, Ms Willis said the initiative was designed to speed up deployment in both urban centres and regional New Zealand, where long-distance travel has been a significant barrier for potential EV buyers.
“We know one of the main barriers to people buying an EV is range anxiety,” she said. “Today’s announcement will allow around 2,500 more chargers to be built… acknowledging people do go on road trips and regional New Zealanders want to use EVs too.”
The loans are repayable, allowing taxpayer funding to be recycled rather than spent outright. The government is partnering with the private sector to ensure the chargers are rolled out faster than would otherwise occur.
Fuel Supply Update
Ms Willis also provided a brief update on the country’s fuel situation amid global tensions in the Middle East and disruption risks to the Strait of Hormuz.
She confirmed that the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) would release its latest fuel stock data at 1pm today. While the numbers are expected to show a slight decline from the previous report, Ms Willis said New Zealand continues to hold “ample stocks” both in-country and on ships en route.
Current user-reported average petrol prices stand at $3.30 per litre for 91 octane, according to the Gaspy app’s 28-day average.
The minister said the government would later this week outline the qualitative criteria it will use to decide whether to move to a higher response phase, such as encouraging behavioural changes or more formal demand management. She resisted specifying an exact number of days of fuel remaining before such measures would be considered, emphasising instead the importance of monitoring incoming shipments, alternative sourcing by fuel companies, and domestic demand patterns.
“We’ve got a big buffer of time — around seven weeks’ worth of fuel either here or safely on its way,” she said. “We wouldn’t want to leave it until we only had a few days left.”
Political Polling and Energy Policy
The interview also touched on the latest RNZ-Reid Research poll, which showed National slipping to 30.8 percent, behind Labour on 35.6 percent, with New Zealand First on 10.6 percent.
Ms Willis downplayed the result, saying polls fluctuate and the government’s focus remained on delivering stable governance amid significant global challenges.
She responded cautiously to New Zealand First leader Winston Peters’ State of the Nation speech on Sunday, in which he called for breaking up the major electricity gentailers. Ms Willis said she had concerns that such a move could drive up power prices by disrupting investment in new generation capacity.
“We want to ensure we’re incentivising investment in new generation because ultimately that’s what will keep electricity prices affordable,” she said. “We’ve seen huge increases in the amount of generation being invested in — wind, solar and not just from the gentailers.”
On the country’s credit rating, Ms Willis acknowledged a warning from Fitch Ratings that New Zealand must demonstrate fiscal responsibility by bending the debt curve downward and returning the books to balance. She reaffirmed her commitment to that strategy.
The full interview is available on RNZ’s Morning Report. MBIE’s updated fuel stock figures are due to be released at 1pm today.
