First of 500 NZ Post EVs arrive

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rzxrnyvgHyM

The first shipment of New Zealand Post’s 500 new electric delivery vehicles has landed in Auckland for a nationwide rollout that starts later this year.

50 vehicles from Norwegian manufacturers Paxster AS have arrived so far for parcel and mail delivery starting on Auckland’s North Shore..

“Within the next two years we plan to have 500 Paxsters in operation, which we believe will be the largest fleet of road legal, fully electric vehicles in New Zealand,” says acting chief operating officer, Mark Stewart.

“The vehicles, in combination with a range of new parcel services that we’ll be talking more about soon, will improve parcel delivery for customers,” says Stewart.

“They’ll also reduce our impact on the environment, which is important to us and our customers,” says Mark Stewart. “Customers will know they can reduce their environmental footprint too by choosing to send their parcels through the New Zealand Post network.”

The New Zealand Post Group already has 50 fully electric vehicles in its delivery operation and 118 hybrid cars in the Kiwibank fleet, and Mr Stewart says the addition of the Paxsters will have a big impact.

“Early calculations suggest New Zealand Post will make very good reductions in fuel costs and greenhouse gas emissions by using these electric vehicles.”

The Paxsters are produced in Norway and received the 2013 Award for Design Excellence from the Norwegian Design Council.

“We have spent four years developing a technology and a concept that is revolutionising the industry with regard to efficiency, the environment and not least the work environment,” says Paxster AS chief executive Lasse André Hansen. “We are very pleased to be suppliers for New Zealand Post and we know these vehicles will perform well.”

The Paxsters will be used for combined parcel and mail deliveries in residential areas of New Zealand’s larger towns and cities. A successful pilot has already been held in New Plymouth.