Rewiring Aotearoa Machine Count

There are 10 million fossil fuel machines in New Zealand. Almost all of them are technically feasible to electrify now. 84% have readily available, cost-effective alternatives available in the country.

Electrification is a cornerstone of a low-emissions future in New Zealand

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As the energy sector focuses on the supply side—generating and delivering electricity through infrastructure and generation—it’s equally important to consider what it takes for everyday New Zealanders to electrify their homes, businesses, and farms.

This means transitioning from fossil fuel-powered machines to electric alternatives, such as:

Replacing petrol cars with electric vehicles (EVs)
Switching gas hobs and water heating for induction stovetops and hot water heat pumps
Using electric lawnmowers instead of petrol ones
Adopting electric tractors and other farm machinery

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Machine Count report - The findings

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Ara Ake has partnered with Rewiring Aotearoa and EECA to develop the Machine Count, New Zealand’s first comprehensive inventory of fossil fuel machines—from cars and tractors to industrial equipment.

This free, public dataset shows:

How many machines currently burn fossil fuels
What they’re used for
What’s needed to replace them with zero-emissions alternatives

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>> Read the report

**84% of fossil fuel machines** (around 8.5 million) are ready to electrify today. Electrifying just 6 million of the top priority machines would save New Zealanders approximately $3.7 billion and 7.5 million tonnes of CO2e every year. These are machines like cars, heaters, lawnmowers, motorbikes, and cooking ovens and stoves.

**10% more can be electrified easily** if we put some effort into making them easily available and accessible. These are the trucks, utes, vans, buses, smaller tractors, and more.

**Only 6% are hard to deploy**, requiring further R&D or innovation, e.g. huge trucks, excavators, big tractors, planes, and large ships.

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‍What it means for innovation

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The shift to electrification creates major opportunities for business and government collaboration. There’s room to lead and innovate, especially where electric alternatives are still emerging. Opportunities for innovation include:

Process innovation – Creating tools and systems to help New Zealanders make easy, informed decisions about electrification
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Finance innovation – Developing mechanisms that reduce upfront costs and make electric machines more accessible
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Clean tech advancement – Supporting New Zealand-led clean technology to be scaled and exported globally

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Rewiring Aotearoa

Rewiring Aotearoa is an independent, non-partisan, not-for-profit organisation working to build an abundant electrified future where every kiwi saves money on their energy bills and every community has the resilience to keep it's lights on and homes warm.

It is Rewiring’s view that the only practical way to succeed in the climate transition is to electrify millions of fossil fuel machines, coining the term “Electrify everything” as it will save our homes, farms, and small businesses thousands of dollars every year.

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Media

Media release - 6 May 2025: New report reveals 84% of New Zealand’s fossil fuel machines ready for electrification

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Download

The Machine Count

Building an actionable pathway to an electrified zero-emission energy system for Aotearoa New Zealand