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Cost of Petrol in New Zealand

Written by
Bruce Pitchers's profile picture
Bruce Pitchers
Content Manager NZ
Source: Unai Huizi Photography/Shutterstock.com
Source: Unai Huizi Photography/Shutterstock.com

Canstar breaks down the different components that go into making up the price of petrol in New Zealand

Key Points

  • Petrol prices at the pump in New Zealand rise and fall on a regular basis.
  • Most of the costs associated with petrol prices are due to importer costs and taxes.
  • Overall, around half the cost of petrol at the pump is taxes.
  • The NZ government has announced plans to remove levies on petrol altogether, and introduce RUCs for all vehicles by the end of 2027.

Petrol prices at the pump in New Zealand rise and fall on a regular basis. But while weekend and holiday price-hikes at the pump are down to local retailers' price-setting, most of the costs associated with petrol prices are due to:

  • Importer costs, which are affected by geopolitics
  • Taxes, which are set by the government

Below we break down the cost of petrol in New Zealand:

Cost of petrol: taxes

You're not just paying for petrol when you fill up, you're also paying taxes.

National fuel taxes per litre of 91:

  • 70.024c – National Land Transport Fund
  • 6c – ACC Motor Vehicle Account
  • 0.66c – Local Authorities Fuel Tax
  • 0.69c – Petroleum or Engine Fuels Monitoring Levy
  • GST at 15%

This means that, for most Kiwis, the amount of tax on a litre of gas is now around 79c.

Overall, when you add all related levies and Emission Trading Scheme costs, around half the price of petrol at the pump is tax:

Source: MBIE

Source: MBIE

Cost of petrol: importer costs & margins

After taxes, the rest of the cost of fuel at the pump comes down to importation costs and importers' mark-ups.

Of course, geopolitics plus global supply and demand has much to do with importation costs.

As you can see from the graph below, over the past five years, importer margins have increased from an average of 28c per litre to around 43c.

Source: MBIE

Source: MBIE

Cheaper petrol in 2027

Increased fuel efficiency and the advent of EVs and hybrids means the government is collecting less fuel excise revenue, which means less money to pay for the road network.

Because of this, the government has announced plans to remove petrol levies at the pump and introduce Road User Charges (RUCs) for all vehicles. The details of the new RUCs are still being worked out, but the new scheme is set to be introduced in 2027.

However, while this will lead to cheaper petrol for Kiwi drivers, any savings are sure to be offset by the cost of the RUCs.


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Bruce Pitchers's profile picture
Bruce PitchersContent Manager NZ

Bruce Pitchers is Canstar NZ's Content Manager. An experienced finance reporter, he has three decades’ experience as a journalist and has worked for major media companies in Australia, the UK and NZ, including ACP, Are Media, Bauer Media Group, Fairfax, Pacific Magazines, News Corp and TVNZ. As a freelancer, he has worked for The Australian Financial Review, the NZ Financial Markets Authority and major banks and investment companies on both sides of the Tasman.
In his role at Canstar, he has been a regular commentator in the NZ media, including on the Driven, Stuff and One Roof websites, the NZ Herald, Radio NZ, and Newstalk ZB.
Away from Canstar, Bruce creates puzzles for magazines including Woman’s Day and New Idea. He is also the co-author of the murder-mystery puzzle book 5 Minute Murder.

Important Information

For those that love the detail

This advice is general and has not taken into account your objectives, financial situation or needs. Consider whether this advice is right for you.

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