44 Bowen Street
Private Bag 6995
Wellington 6141
New Zealand
T 64 4 894 5400
F 64 4 894 6100
www.nzta.govt.nz
5 March 2026
Paul S
[email address]
REF: OIA-21179
Dear Paul
Request made under the Official Information Act 1982
Thank you for your emails
of 18 February 2026 requesting the following information regarding Tesla
vehicles under the Official Information Act 1982 (the Act). I wil respond to each part of your request in
turn as fol ows:
1. A list of al Industry Model Codes and Sub-model descriptions for 'Tesla' added to the
LANDATA database since October 1st 2025.
Information for this part of your request is available on our Motor Vehicle Register (MVR) Open Data
portal, which lists all vehicles by model and sub-model, which can be accessed at:
https://qap.nzta.govt.nz/single/?appid=2e5bd26c-5142-485e-a96d-ce0d903b3b5b&sheet=22c77866-
93e2-4632-a65f-7b171ae93647&theme=NZTA%20Website%20Theme
The
“First Registration” dashboard contains five years of data for all vehicles registered for the first
time each month, with all details about each vehicle.
The fol owing document outlines instructions on using the application:
• Attachment 1 – NZTA OpenData sets 2025 MVR data.
I am therefore required to refuse this part of your request under section 18(d) of the Act as the
information requested is publicly available.
2. Any VIN decode documentation or technical specification sheets (such as VIN
structural definitions or VIN mapping files) provided by Tesla New Zealand for the
purpose of updating the Vehicle Attributes definitions for the Model 3 range or any Model
3 variants to NZTA since October 1st 2025.
Information regarding VIN decoding for Tesla vehicles is available on Tesla’s website at:
https://service.tesla.com/docs/Model3/ServiceManual/2024/en-us/GUID-B7B9507C-C984-41F2-89EE-
D23CA4E682ED.html#:~:text=You%20can%20find%20the%20VIN,at%20the%20following%20locatio
ns%3A&text=Stamped%20on%20a%20plate%20located,by%20looking%20through%20the%20winds
hield
I am therefore required to refuse this part of your request under section 18(d) of the Act as the
information requested is publicly available.
NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi (NZTA) also does not hold technical specification sheets for
vehicle attributes – nor are vehicle distributors required to supply these to NZTA. I am therefore
refusing this part of your request under section 18(e) of the Act as the documents alleged to contain
the information requested do not exist.
We can, however, advise that the confirmed attributes for a vehicle are only captured on the MVR
when a vehicle has been certified. VIN decode documents or technical specification sheets are not
used when a new distributor in New Zealand supplies NZTA with a vehicle model’s attributes, nor is
this information required when updating a vehicle model’s attributes.
VIN decode documents are for a specific purpose i.e. to decode the sequence in a VIN. VIN decode
information is only required to be provided to enter this sequence on the motor vehicle register and
ensure the validity of a VIN. This information is also available on Tesla’s website at:
https://teslatap.com/vin-decoder/.
When you load a vehicle’s VIN details via the above website, it wil show the structure of the VIN and
what each position relates to.
3. Records of any Form MR2A 'pre-registration' entries for Tesla vehicles that have not
yet reached 'Active' status on the Motor Vehicle Register since October 1st 2025. This
also includes any pre import database templates provided to Tesla.
For New Zealand vehicles, MR2A forms are printed and distributed by the official New Zealand
Distributor. NZTA only files a physical MR2A form for six months after a vehicle has been registered,
at which stage the form is presented to NZTA and the vehicle’s registration status appears as
“active” on the MVR.
We are therefore unable to provide this information as copies of MR2A forms not held by NZTA for
vehicles that have not yet been registered (known as
pre-registered vehicles). Accordingly, this part of
your request is refused under section 18(e) of the Act as the documents al eged to contain the
information requested do not exist.
1. A list of al new vehicle variants, sub-model descriptions, and their associated Industry
Model Codes added to the CCS system by Tesla New Zealand (or their representatives)
since October 1st, 2025.
For any new Model 3 variants identified in point 1, I request the recorded Reference Mass
(kg) and CO2 Emission (g/km) values as stored in the CCS database.
The enclosed data in Attachment 2 includes details for all new vehicle variants accepted in the Clean
Car Standard system and registered in New Zealand. Included in this data is:
• vehicles’ makes, model, sub-model, import type (i.e. new)
• model code (for new vehicles in New Zealand this is the MVMA code)
• the CO2 g/km values and tare weights as per Clean Car Standard system
• as “reference mass” is not a defined term under CCS legislation, we provided the tare weight.
If however you referred to gross vehicle mass (GVM) weight, this is available on the Open
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Data Portal
https://nzta.govt.nz/resources/new-zealand-motor-vehicle-register-statistics/new-
zealand-vehicle-fleet-open-data-sets.
Please note that information relating to vehicles in the Clean Car Standard system that are not yet
registered in New Zealand has been withheld under section 9(2)(b)(i ) the Act as it could reveal
commercially sensitive information, such as upcoming model activity or launch-related timing. The
withholding of the information is necessary to protect information where the making available of the
information would be likely unreasonably to prejudice the commercial position of the person who
supplied or who is the subject of the information.
2. Any correspondence or technical data sheets submitted to EECA by Tesla for the
purpose of "Model Coding" new variants that have not yet been made "Active" for public
registration.
NZTA does not hold copies of technical data sheets. We can, however, advise that this information is
available on Tesla’s website at:
https://www.tesla.com/ownersmanual/model3/en_cn/GUID-56562137-FC31-4110-A13C-
9A9FC6657BF0.html.
I am therefore required to refuse this part of your request under section 18(d) of the Act as the
information requested is publicly available.
Under section 28 of the Act, you have the right to ask the Ombudsman to review my decision to refuse
parts of this request. The contact details for the Ombudsman can be located at
www.ombudsman.parliament.nz.
In line with NZTA policy, this response wil soon be published on our website, with personal
information removed.
If you would like to discuss this reply with NZTA, please contact Ministerial Services by email to
[email address].
Yours sincerely
Josh Driscoll
Manager, Ministerial Services
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