Eye-watering fines for big car brands exposed: Mazda, Nissan, Subaru and Hyundai at risk of paying $10 million-plus as emission regulations crunch

A number of popular car brands in Australia are at risk of paying fines in excess of $10 million for not meeting tightening emission standards if they don’t correct course quickly.

The Australian Federal Government’s New Vehicle Efficiency Standard (NVES) has begun to crunch following the release of the first performance period results.

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For brands like Tesla and Polestar, the results aren't surprising as they only sell electric vehicles (EVs) and are therefore well under the set target, so they receive credits.

For other brands however, the results were likely sobering. Depending on the brand’s situation, there are potential fines afoot for vehicles that are above the set CO2 emissions targets.

Fines are currently set at $50 per gram per kilometre of CO2 over the limit, per vehicle imported into Australia. This can double to $100 per gram per kilometre of CO2 if the deadline for the fine (December 31, 2027) is missed by the carmaker.

These fines will be paid directly by the carmaker to the federal regulator.

It’s worth noting the fines aren’t due to be paid straight away as carmakers are given two years to offset them by beating targets in following years, or buying credits from other carmakers.

Take Mazda, for example. It currently has the highest IEV (508,517) and imported a total of 38,465 vehicles over the 2025 performance period.

If it doesn't offset the potential fine by importing more zero- or low-emission vehicles in the next two years, or purchase credits from other brands, it’s facing a fine of almost $25.5 million which can double to over $50 million if it misses the deadline.

Mazda is already trying to avoid this by introducing new EVs in Australia. The Tesla Model 3-rivalling 6e, plus the Tesla Model Y-rival CX-6e are launching this year.

Additionally, Mazda may be cutting deals with other carmakers that have credits to help offset the fines. These deals are confidential between the two parties and aren’t publicly detailed.

To help paint a broader picture, the following outlines how much the top 10 brands with the highest IEV will need to pay in fines if they were due right now and if they miss the deadline.

Carmaker	IEV	Vehicles imported	Current fine amount	Current fine amount if deadline missed
Mazda	508,517	38,465	$25,425,850	$50,851,700
Nissan	215,261	13,877	$10,763,050	$21,526,100
Subaru	139,635	13,187	$6,981,750	$13,963,500
Hyundai and Genesis	84,563	39,863	$4,228,150	$8,456,300
General Motors (Cadillac, Chevrolet and GMC)	65,855	1552	$3,292,750	$6,585,500
Porsche	33,448	1653	$3,344,800	$3,344,800
Mahindra	32,938	2757	$3,293,800	$3,293,800
Honda	26,069	9022	$2,606,900	$2,606,900
KGM	22,344	1969	$2,234,400	$2,234,400
LDV	21,129	5519	$2,112,900	$2,112,900

Even if the carmakers do eventually have to foot the bill for these fines, some have previously acknowledged that some or all of the cost will be passed onto the customer in the form of price increases.

Brands like Ford, Hyundai and Nissan have previously admitted, at least in part, that their price increases are due to the tightening CO2 standards.

The companies have also started to axe certain models and engine types with high CO2 emissions. Examples include the 2.0-litre bi-turbo four-cylinder diesel engine in the Ford Ranger and Everest, as well as the 1.6-litre turbocharged four-cylinder petrol engine in the Hyundai Kona.

Nissan also delayed the local launch of the Ariya electric SUV, but the introduction of the NVES prompted its arrival.

The Japanese carmaker is also set to make its Qashqai small SUV hybrid-only in Australia during 2026 when it introduces the new-generation version of its e-Power hybrid powertrain.