EV experience for staff

This story first appeared in the february issue of Evtalk – CLICK HERE to download the magazine FREE

   A hands-on electric vehicle experience provided for nearly 40 Trade Me Motors staff in Auckland can be extended to other businesses if required.

All the Trade Me Motors staff involved were impressed with the acceleration, quietness and other EV attributes after driving or riding in a Tesla Model S and two Nissan Leafs supplied by GVI Electric.

And most are now considering making their next personal vehicle an EV as a result.

Trade Me Motors head Alan Clark is also investigating switching the company’s fleet to EVs over the next few years once the present cars are phased out.

Clark says staff sometimes drive 300-500km a day so would need an EV which has good range.He wouldn’t mind an EV himself either.

The EV education session was organised as part of Trade Me Motors’ monthly get-together to learn more about aspects of the automotive industry.

GVI Electric representatives Hayden Johnston and Russell Bowden say they provide ride and drive sessions at “any opportunity” to educate people about EVs, so are available on request from other businesses too.

“Once you get people in them they realise the advantages – they’re fast, smooth and quiet and I tell them they’ll never have to pay for gas again,” Johnston says.

Trade Me Motors staff like Ange Humble learned more about EVs during the session.“The GVI guys dispelled all the myths I had about EVs,” she says.

Although she’d been in a Leaf before, it was her first time in a Tesla.“It’s surprisingly quick,” Humble says.She drives about 40km daily and learned she save about $2750 annually in fuel, paying just $7 a week for electricity to charge the car.

“Even though I don’t have an EV yet I’m having a charger put in my garage to future proof the house,” Humble says.

She also found the Tesla ride very quiet and comfortable, saying its long range also provides a sense of security.

“I would like to buy a Tesla, although they’re a bit pricey at the moment.”

Upfront cost and range were uncertainties for some Trade Me Motors staff, but they expect both will improve as a wider range of EVs become available.

Trade Me Motors dealer support’s Kathryn Dunbar says she was surprised to learn EVs like older Nissan Leafs could be bought for under $10,000.It was her first time in an EV and she says the Tesla ride was quiet, smooth and she also likes the fact EVs are environmentally friendly.

Kim Sokolich and Matt Neems tried out a 2018 Nissan Leaf and gave it the thumbs up.Neems says he’s a “ute guy” as he needs something to tow racing cars and hasn’t heard of any electric utes available yet to do the job.

Sokolich says the car went much faster than he initially thought, although he noticed it was slightly slower in eco mode as regenerative braking and coasting kicked in.“Without eco it just flies.” He will consider an EV for his next car.

Jordon Legros was surprised how smooth her ride in a 2017 Nissan Leaf was with GVI’s Kate Almestica.“It’s quite fast,” Legros says after driving it for about 15 minutes.“I’ve not driven an EV before.” Legros might get a hybrid first though, mainly because of range anxiety.

Michael Yip from Trade Me Motors says he was very impressed with the smoothness and pick-up of EVs, having never driven one before.

Although he has some concerns about range and battery life, Yip says he would think about getting an EV.

Sue Anderson also liked the EV drive and would consider one for her next car.

“I’d like to see the government get behind it with incentives.”
Russell Bowden from GVI says many he took for rides in the Tesla Model S wanted to know how much a Tesla cost.

“I also had a lot of questions around owning and driving an EV.”
He says getting people to try the EVs allows them to see the practicalities of getting an electric car.

“We do a few workshops like this a year and see this as an opportunity to educate people.”