EV advisory panel disbands

The Electric Vehicle Programme Leadership Group of industry representatives set up in 2016 to advise the government on EVs is no more.

“It had run its course,” group member and Drive Electric chairman Mark Gilbert says, adding the decision to disband came from members themselves, along with the Ministry of Transport’s blessing.

Gilbert says the group’s focus was too narrow and the situation has changed.

The group was set up under the National government to advise on barriers to EV uptake and work towards the goal of 64,000 EVs on New Zealand roads by the end of 2021.

That target now looks unlikely, and the government’s shelving of the “Clean Car Plan” involving emission standards and a ‘feebate’ scheme means any further moves on EVs are not expected until after the September general election.

Associate transport minister Julie Anne Genter wanted electric bikes included in the group’s scope but that required a change to the terms of reference, Gilbert says.

“I think everyone gets the future is about all forms of e-mobility including Mobility as a Service (MaaS), and the world has changed quite significantly since 2016 in this space.
“The Clean Car Plans came and went, so it was time for a rethink and refresh,” he says, adding the group could possibly reconvene with a wider focus after the election.

Gilbert believes EVs could well become an election topic too.

The advisory group comprised about 10 members, including transport secretary and Ministry of Transport chief executive Peter Mersi as chair, the VIA’s David Vinsen, MIA chief executive David Crawford, and representatives from Mercury and Vector, the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority, Sustainable Business Council, Automobile Association, and ChargeNet NZ.