Let’s move rest of NZ to EVs – Drive Electric

Welcoming the government’s commitment to transition its fleet to EVs, Drive Electric chair Mark Gilbert says it should now get on with decarbonising all New Zealand transport.

 “Drive Electric congratulates the Government for declaring a climate emergency and welcomes the commitment to a carbon neutral public service by 2025, which includes the transition of the government fleet to electric,” he says.

“The government mandated fleet has about 16,000 vehicles, and yet only about 1% of these are electric so far.

“It’s critical that this government shows leadership, and gets its own fleet shifted as soon as possible, ideally well before 2025.

“Our members asked the government to do this before the election, and we are delighted that they are now getting on with this. This will show other sectors what can be achieved.”

Gilbert says the declaration of a climate emergency in New Zealand is an instrument of leadership, but is only truly meaningful if ambitious action towards a climate friendly economy is seen.

“Part of that must be a plan to decarbonise the transport system,” he adds.

“In New Zealand, 90% of travel done on our roads is done by light vehicles.

“We won’t hit our climate targets unless we improve how we get around our towns, cities and regions.”

Gilbert says Drive Electric’s 50 members, including many of New Zealand’s leading car brands, are ready to work with the government to make a decarbonisation plan happen.

The plan needs to include measures to encourage businesses to transition their corporate fleets to EVs and New Zealanders to move to EVs and more accessible active/public transport, he explains.

It should also feature investment in infrastructure, such as EV charging networks and any necessary improvements to the grid, along with measures to ensure home charging installations are manageable and safe.