ACT says it would scrap vehicle rules it believes are pushing up car prices and making it harder for New Zealanders to buy newer, safer used vehicles.

The party has included the proposals in its new transport policy, Keep New Zealand Moving, which outlines six reforms aimed at reducing transport costs, improving infrastructure and increasing value for money.

ACT says it would scrap what it calls ‘unrealistic’ vehicle-emissions settings, oppose arbitrary age bans and other rules that restrict the supply of affordable used vehicles.

It would also require any new vehicle-related rules to disclose their potential impact on vehicle supply, prices and fleet turnover.

ACT argues most New Zealanders don't replace an older vehicle with a brand-new car, instead trading up to the safest and most reliable used vehicle they can afford.

Used imports account for around two in every five light vehicles entering the New Zealand fleet, according to the party, and provide buyers with vehicles around the $15,000 price point.

However, according to ACT the number of used-import passenger vehicles registered in New Zealand has fallen from around 165,000 in 2017 to 85,000 in 2025.

At the same time, the average age of the country's light passenger fleet has increased from 14.3 to 15.3 years, with more than four in 10 light vehicles now at least 15 years old.

ACT says restricting affordable imports risks making the existing fleet even older.

“A family priced out of a ten-year-old Japanese hybrid does not suddenly find another $20,000 for a new car, they keep the old one longer.” the party said.

The policy argues vehicle standards should reflect the cars actually available from Japan, which remains New Zealand's main source of used imports, rather than assuming households can afford to buy new. According to ACT, vehicle affordability would be a key test for future policy.

“If an emissions, testing, or age rule reduces the supply of affordable vehicles, pushes up prices or keeps older cars on the road longer, ACT will scrap it,” the policy states.

The party hasn't specified which existing vehicle-emissions, testing or age rules it would repeal or change under the proposal.

The vehicle affordability policy is one of six reforms outlined by ACT. The party also wants major transport projects to publish their lowest-cost safe option alongside the preferred option, including cost, delivery time and benefit-cost ratio.

It wants infrastructure built ahead of population growth, with traffic thresholds of 10,000, 15,000 and 20,000 vehicles per day triggering route protection, project planning and additional lane construction respectively.

ACT would also ring-fence road maintenance and renewal funding, preventing money allocated to maintaining existing roads from being redirected to new capital projects.

The party wants Crown-funded infrastructure contracts to be awarded on price, capability, safety and delivery, rather than ethnicity, and would remove ethnicity-based procurement requirements.

It would also make non-functional art, monuments and decorative amenity features ineligible for National Land Transport Fund funding, arguing road-user revenue should be spent on roads and transport infrastructure.

ACT says the overall objective is to “build more, waste less and make every transport dollar deliver”.

“New Zealanders already pay a lot for transport through fuel tax, road-user charges, rates and tolls. They rightly expect that money to be spent building and maintaining the transport network,” said ACT MP and Infrastructure spokesperson Simon Court.

“Instead, too much is swallowed by optional extras, over-engineered designs, deferred maintenance and rules that put politics ahead of value.

“The Government has started restoring discipline to infrastructure spending - ACT will go further."

ACT promises cheaper cars by scrapping ‘unrealistic’ vehicle rules

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