Source: Ara Ake
The first complete inventory of all the fossil fuel machines in New Zealand has found there are over ten million of them in the country and that 84% could be feasibly replaced with electric machines that are available in the country today.
Rewiring Aotearoa’s Machine Count report showed that upgrading six million of the most ‘electrifiable’ fossil fuel machines – things like cars, heaters, lawnmowers, road bikes, ovens and stoves – would save the country approximately $8 million every day, or $3.7 billion each year.
It would also slash 7.5 million tonnes of carbon emissions each year, almost six times the total emissions from domestic aviation in 2023, or more than flying the entire population of Auckland to London and back every year.
Another 10% of the total – around one million trucks, utes, vans, buses and smaller tractors – could be electrified if more effort was made to bring electric options to New Zealand, while just 6% of the machines – primarily those in heavy industry – require more research and development, or subsidies for them to be cost-effective.
- Check out the interactive tool with all machines sized by estimated count or emissions here.
Rewiring Aotearoa’s previous research has shown that many New Zealand homes, farms and businesses can reduce costs and emissions by upgrading their gas appliances, petrol cars and diesel machines to more efficient electric equivalents and running them on renewable electricity from the grid and solar.
The Machine Count, a project supported by Ara Ake and EECA (Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority), set out to better understand the size of the challenge: how many fossil fuel machines there are in our economy, and how hard they would be to electrify.
“We always knew there were a lot of them, but now we have a firm idea on the number and on how ‘electrifiable’ they all are,” says Rewiring Aotearoa CEO Mike Casey. “The research shows clearly that an electric transition is both technically possible and cost effective in the vast majority of cases.”
Daniel Gnoth, Ara Ake’s General Manager of Research and Insights, says the report clearly identifies where the greatest opportunities lie to accelerate New Zealanders efforts to support the country’s electrification journey.
“This study shows that innovation in energy isn’t just about developing new technologies-it’s about making clean, efficient machines more accessible and easier to adopt. The insights from this study will be incredibly useful for energy innovators to develop new solutions, including commercial and financial models, to accelerate the electrification of fossil fuel powered machines. If we get this right, we won’t just cut emissions-we’ll unlock new services and solutions that can be showcased and exported globally.”
“It’s been a pleasure to partner with Rewiring Aotearoa on what is a groundbreaking study, both in its ambition and the breadth of its scope.”
New Zealand’s fossil fuel prices are among the highest in the world, so Casey says shifting from machines that are reliant on expensive foreign molecules to electric machines that run on locally-made electrons is generally a no brainer – “for the economics, for the environment, and for energy security”.
“Climate change is largely an energy problem. Around 75% of the world’s emissions come from energy and machines use that energy, so solving the problem in practice is about replacing those machines. We figured out how to electrify our cherry orchard near Cromwell and now we don’t use any diesel on the farm. We save tens of thousands on our energy bills each year, we’ve brought our emissions down to almost nothing, and we play a positive role in the energy system. I firmly believe New Zealand could become a demonstration project for the rest of the world and show that solving climate could save us all money.”
Casey says there were many who said it wouldn’t be possible to run an orchard without diesel. There were many who didn’t believe we would see electric trucks, buses, diggers or loaders. And there are plenty who don’t believe we will see large electric tractors or mining equipment.
“There are already plenty of electric buses and trucks on the road, huge electric machines are being launched all the time, and we are seeing massive technological advances and cost reductions in the fields of batteries, high-speed charging, solar panels and high temperature heat pumps, so there will definitely be options to explore in your sector.”
EECA research shows that 36% of New Zealand household non-green appliances are over a decade old. The median age of a car in New Zealand is around 14 years, and businesses are regularly upgrading their fleets and equipment, so there are a whole lot of machines that are set to be replaced in the coming years.
Megan Hurnard, EECA’s General Manager of Insights, Data and Communications says: “We’re entering a critical investment cycle for the machines that power our economy. As old equipment reaches the end of its life, the choices we make now will shape our energy system for decades. Replacing outdated machines with the same inefficient models risks locking in higher running costs, poor performance, and greater exposure to fuel price volatility. By choosing modern, energy-efficient technologies we can improve affordability, boost productivity, and enhance New Zealand’s energy security.”
This research is not suggesting that every machine needs to be upgraded right now, but every machine is going to need to be replaced at some point and it’s clear your next purchasing decision should be electric.
“In saying that, if you are more worried about emissions than economics, it makes sense to replace your fossil fuel machines before they break down,” says Casey. “Some fossil fuel machines can even be turned electric – like our 1990 Hilux, which we recently retrofitted with a 2014 Nissan Leaf motor and battery.”
Casey says the electric transition is already happening in homes, farms and businesses around the country and the cost savings are driving a lot of that.
“We believe the economic argument makes this shift inevitable. It makes no sense to use machines that cost more to do the same job – and it makes even less sense when those machines pump out so much pollution. But it’s not happening as fast as it should, and it’s not happening for the people who need it most; the ones who need to reduce their bills or those who need to improve their resilience in the face of worsening weather events.”
Casey says opening up access to low-interest loans so that everyone – no matter their income – can deal with the higher upfront costs of electric machines and making it easy to upgrade is what will take this “from possible to practical”.
“We need a range of financial innovations – both from the Government and from the banks – to speed this up. We also need innovations around the process – making it simple and easy for busy parents, renters, and retirees, not just the energy nerds, to benefit from going electric. And it needs to be from the first moment of research all the way through to installation. We’ve counted the machines, we’ve shown it’s feasible to electrify most of them, and we’ll be explaining in more detail how to make it happen and what needs to change in our upcoming policy manifesto.”
The machine count database is a free, publicly available resource. It is hoped the database and findings will continue to be used and improved by government institutions, academic researchers, and businesses.
Rewiring Aotearoa is an independent think / do tank working on energy, climate, and electrification research, advocacy, and supporting communities through the energy transition. The New Zealand-based team consists of energy, policy, communications and community outreach experts and it is funded by New Zealand-based philanthropists including Sir Stephen Tindall, Urs Hölzle and the Whakatupu Aotearoa Foundation.
Ara Ake is Aotearoa New Zealand’s future energy centre. New Zealand Government-sponsored, it is focused on accelerating the nation’s transition to a low-emissions energy future. Ara Ake is the national hub of new energy knowledge and development, connecting and collaborating across the energy innovation ecosystem to enable energy solutions to become commercially viable.
