Some of the questions we’ve been asked about the Clean Car Standard are listed below. If you have a question that is not included, please email us at CCSImporter@nzta.govt.nz.

1 June 2023 changes - questions and answers from webinars

  • How are credits valued and does their value change over time?

    The value of CO2 credits is in grams/km. They do not have a monetary value within the CCS system. However, they can be used to offset charges (one CO2 g/km credit to one CO2 g/km charge). Credits can also be transferred (traded) with other importers. Any payment price for credits traded and the terms of the trade must be agreed and managed between the two trading parties – Waka Kotahi has no visibility of, or responsibility for, the financial agreement or monetary transactions.  

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CO2 accounts

  • Do I need a CO2 account to bring my vehicle back from overseas? Or buy one vehicle?

    From 1 December 2022, every imported vehicle that is subject to the Clean Car Standard needs to be allocated to a CO2 account in order to complete entry certification and registration.

    Any person or business can open a CO2 account for this purpose, but the vehicle they are importing doesn't have to be allocated to a CO2 account owned by them. Some importing agents and vehicles logistics companies may offer the use of their own CO2 accounts to customers. 

    It is important to note that the owner of the CO2 account is responsible for any fees incurred against the account and will own any CO2 credits earned. They will also need to access the CCS System to accept the vehicle on their CO2 account, as part of the vehicle entry and certification process. 

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Vehicle import process

  • Do I always need to accept a vehicle in my CO2 Account?

    Yes. If the details are correct the vehicle can be approved for registration (used vehicles and parallel imports) or have its WoF or CoF issued (new vehicles).

    Where there is a list of vehicles awaiting acceptance, these can be selected and accepted individually or in bulk. There is an auto accept feature that you can turn on for vehicles at or below target. The system will automatically accept the vehicles without you having to login to manually accept these.

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  • How do vehicles get into my CO2 account and how can I monitor this?

    The distributor will load their account number against new vehicle model codes in MIAMI. When VINs are assigned to the model codes and pushed to the MVR, the MVR will then push the vehicle records to your CO2 account the CCS system.

    You can assign a used vehicle to your account using Fuelsaver. The Entry Certifier will require you to provide your CCS CO2 account number along with vehicle documentation. This can be printed from an option in Fuelsaver. Once the MVR knows about the vehicle a CCS number loaded in Fuelsaver (either by the importer or entry certifier) will be pushed to the CCS system creating the vehicle in your account.

    You can see vehicles appearing in your account by logging on to your CO2 account and performing account enquiries.

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Calculating CO2 values