Christchurch gets its own EV City

This story first appeared in the April issue of EVtalk – CLICK HERE to download the magazine FREE

Canterbury’s electric and hybrid vehicle specialist store EV City officially opened on April 6.

Former Christchurch mayor and current councillor Vicki Buck declared EV City’s showroom open at 158 Wordsworth St in Sydenham, Christchurch.

“This is fantastic – I love it,” Nissan Leaf owner Buck says.

“Everyone I know who hasn’t got an EV says their next one will be electric.”

Owner and EV specialist David Boot welcomed 210 people and thanked all who had supported the project.

Special guests also included National Party education spokeswoman Nikki Kaye and French students Heloise de Bokay and Solene Trinquet who are touring New Zealand in a Jucy prototype electric campervan.

Kaye sees EVs as the future, particularly as many young people she has come across are “passionate about the environment”.

A variety of all-electric and hybrid cars were displayed – the 580 square metre showroom is able to fit 28 comfortably. And a 1903 electric car was on show for the opening.

Boot says many of the EVs arrived just in time after delays because of the stink bug issue and industrial action at the Lyttelton Port.

His range includes Nissan Leafs and e-NV200 vans, hybrid Mazdas, Nissan Note e-Power hybrids and plug-in Toyota Prius hybrids.

Boot says the vehicles will be sold “ready to go”. Customer’s wants will be taken into consideration and the vehicles come with all the appropriate documentation, as well as guarantees and warranties.

A charging comparator shows the different styles of charging.

Electric bikes from Watt Wheels will also be available.
Two 22kW Rolec chargers with two types of outlets outside the showroom are free for customers to use.

“These will also be available Friday and Saturday nights for anyone buying a Nissan Leaf or Toyota Prius plug-in hybrid for taxi or Uber purposes,” Boot says.

A waiting/lounge area is also available for use by customers.

To add some humour, EV City has produced a few t-shirts with slogans and graphics. One says, “I love (heart graphic) range anxiety”, another has a reference to AC/DC charging and a third has an image of a leaf holding binoculars in relation to Leaf Spy.

Boot will be manning the showroom pretty much by himself for the first year and servicing or other work will be done through nearby EVs Enhanced.

EVworld creators Conferenz sponsorship general manager Dominic Duncan spoke at the opening about bringing the EVworld show to Christchurch on November 23 and 24.

That’s because of South Island demand for a dedicated show bringing together the full spectrum of electric mobility, cars, e-bikes, e-buses and more, he says.

Christchurch has some very innovative developments going on, with Yoogo car share launched with 100 EVs, the Zephyr electric air-taxi project, autonomous vehicle trials and others, Duncan says.

Auckland will also host EVworld on August 10 and 11.
So why establish EV City?

“The Government has called for 64,000 EVs by 2020 but in Christchurch little has happened with private industry not answering the call,” Boot says.
“So let’s do it!”

Boot says many people tell him EVs are the future.
“But this is now – not the future.”

Search for EV City on Facebook and Instagram or contact David Boot on 0275 768 007.