EVs continue to rise

Electric vehicle numbers reached 6603 in January, up nearly 400 on December.

That’s pushing even closer to the 8000 goal by the end of the year, likely to be surpassed months ahead at this rate.

Ministry of Transport latest figures show the fleet size comprises 1327 new light pure electrics (up 63 on December), 3493 used light pure electrics (up 280), 1229 new light plug-in hybrids (up 32) and 477 used light plug in hybrids (up 27). Heavy EVs barely moved, adding just one more to last year’s 76.

There were 407 EV registrations in January compared with a peak of 477 in November, dropping to 378 in December.

Last year’s new EV intake was dominated in the all-electrics by Tesla (128 Model S, 116 Model X – total 244) and the Hyundai Ioniq (206) out of the total 546, according to Motor Industry Association (MIA) statistics.

In 2016 there were just 63 all-electrics, mainly from Renault and BMW.

January continues the Tesla trend (16 Model S, 7 Model X – total 23), with the Volkswagen e-Golf also at 23 and the Ioniq chipping in with 11.

Tesla is close to opening a new showroom in Karangahape Rd, Auckland. It already has a pop-up showroom in nearby Grey Lynn.

Delays in the “more affordable” Tesla Model 3 production put doubt about when a right-hand drive version will be available here.

Last year’s 387 electric petrol-extended vehicles were dominated by the Mitsubishi Outlander with 255, followed by 37 BMW variants and 36 Audi A3s.

The Outlander recorded 12 of the 30 in this category for January.

Petrol hybrids totalled 1717, led by the Toyota Camry (634) and stablemate the Corolla (480), with Prius variants totalling 262.

The Kia Niro and Lexus variants (21 and 23 respectively) dominate January’s petrol hybrids.