- China's industrial regulator expressed willingness to strengthen cooperation with New Zealand in NEVs, charging infrastructure, and low-carbon sectors.
- New Zealand officials noted they are actively promoting NEV adoption, calling the dialogue a significant milestone.
China and New Zealand held their first dialogue on NEVs (NEVs), signaling potential enhanced collaboration in this field.
On December 3 local time, Vice Minister Xin Guobin of China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) and Siobhan Routledge, Acting Deputy Chief Executive of New Zealand's Ministry of Transport, co-chaired the dialogue in Wellington, according to a MIIT announcement today.
The announcement said that the MIIT is willing to strengthen cooperation with New Zealand's Ministry of Transport in NEVs, charging infrastructure, and low-carbon sectors.
Marking the start of the second decade of the China-New Zealand Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, this initiative will help propel bilateral relations toward greater development in the coming decade, the announcement noted.
The New Zealand government is actively promoting NEVs, and this inaugural China-New Zealand NEV dialogue marks a significant milestone, Routledge said.
This will establish a communication platform for expanding bilateral NEV cooperation, and globally leading NEV enterprises -- including those from China -- are welcome to enter the New Zealand market, Routledge added.
The announcement did not elaborate further on NEV cooperation details. Currently, few Chinese EV manufacturers have entered the New Zealand market.
In March this year, Geely Auto (HKG: 0175, OTCMKTS: GELYF) announced its entry into New Zealand and Australia, launching the EX5 electric SUV (sport utility vehicle) there. In August, Zeekr (NYSE: ZK) entered the New Zealand market.
Last month, IM Motors, the EV unit of SAIC Motor (SHA: 600104), launched the LS6 SUV in New Zealand, rebranded locally as the IM6.
Additionally, some Chinese automakers, such as Nio Inc (NYSE: NIO, HKG: 9866), had conducted vehicle testing in New Zealand, leveraging its location in the Southern Hemisphere for climate conditions opposite those in Northern Hemisphere China.
