Clean Car Discount scheme: Impact on our dealers

The Clean Car Discount consists of rebates and fees based on CO2 emissions for imported new and used vehicles the first time they are registered in New Zealand.

• High CO2 emission vehicles will be charged a fee, the higher the CO2 emissions the greater the fee.
• Low CO2 emission vehicles will be eligible for a rebate, the lower the emissions the greater the rebate.
• Vehicles with moderate emissions will not incur a fee or be eligible for a rebate.

We’ve been working alongside Waka Kotahi, our partners, and our customers to adopt the changes in a way that is clear for buyers and fair for dealers. Over the coming months, you'll notice updates to the way we display the new Clean Car information and pricing across Trade Me.

Temporary changes until 31 May:

• We’ll add a placeholder message stating “Clean Car fee or rebate may apply” to applicable vehicle listings, along with a pop-up link to additional information about the scheme and directing the buyer to talk to the dealer for further details.
• The listing will not show the fee or rebate amount.
• Required: You will need to include the fee or rebate amount in the description of the listing (if applicable).

Clean Car fees and rebates have the potential to significantly impact the price a buyer pays for a car. Buyers told us that they want clarity and transparency around the total price. 85% said they wanted to see fees and rebates on the listing, and 70% want fees included in the asking price.* The asking price is then closer to the amount that they have to pay to drive the car away. If they are financing the purchase, they will have to finance this total amount.

From 31 May, asking prices on Trade Me will include any applicable Clean Car fee. This means the asking price is closer to the amount that a buyer will have to pay to drive the car away. If they are financing the purchase, they will have to finance this total amount.

Asking price = Car price (retail price excluding fee) + Clean Car fee

This is an example of what it will look like on listing pages:

From 31 May the pricing information on Trade Me will display any available Clean Car rebate, but it won’t be included in (i.e.subtracted from) the asking price. This is because the rebate must be claimed separately once the buyer has purchased the car and does not affect how much they will need to pay the dealer to drive the car away.

Asking price = Car price (retail price excluding rebate)

This is an example of what it will look like on listing pages:

• From now until 31 May: you will need to add the Clean Car fee or rebate amount to the listing description.
  
• From 31 May onwards: To make sure we are presenting accurate information and to ensure fair and consistent pricing across Trade Me, ALL listings will be subject to the following:

• You must provide the correct VIN/Chassis information for every vehicle. 
• You must check on Trade Me that your listings are displaying the correct Clean Car information.

In the majority of cases, the Clean Car information will be automatically displayed on applicable vehicle listings and there is nothing more for you to do.

• You send us the price of the car in the same way you always have.
• Trade Me will look up the Clean Car information from Waka Kotahi using the VIN/Chassis you provide.**
• We’ll add any applicable fee amount to your price, resulting in the asking price. We’ll also display the fee or rebate in the pricing breakdown on the listing.
• Note: If your VMS provider is sending through the Clean Car information to Trade Me, we will use this rather than looking up the information from Waka Kotahi.

In the case where Waka Kotahi doesn’t recognise the VIN/Chassis, for example when a vehicle is in transit, you will need to provide the Clean Car information. There are two ways you can then provide us with this information:

• Via your VMS if they support this, your VMS can confirm this or
• Editing the listing in DealerBase and entering the information manually.

In some cases, you may want to control the exact asking price advertised on the listing.

• We will accept prices including the fee, so long as you have signalled that the fee is already included in the price and your VMS allows this option. In these cases, we’ll put the price you provide as the asking price, and state the amount of the fee as well as the price of the car excluding the fee.
• If you want to use this option please reach out to your VMS provider to check whether they offer this.

In the case where a Chassis or VIN does not bring back any information from Waka Kotahi you will need to do the following:

• Indicate whether a Clean Car fee or rebate is applicable.
• Enter the amount of the fee or rebate (if applicable).
• You can use the Rightcar website to confirm the CO2 emission value and estimated fee or rebate. 

If you would like to list vehicles for pre-order where you do not have the VIN information please contact your Account Manager and they will be able to help you with this.