EV fans turn out in Dunedin

The Leading the Charge EV road trip had a full day in Dunedin on April 10 with hundreds of people involved.

The day began with a display in the Octagon with many EVs on show, including a Kia Niro Electric, Hyundai Ioniq, two Smart electrics, several Nissan Leafs, a Mitsubishi i-Miev, an i-Miev flatbed truck and the Aquavan from the University Marine Dept with a crustacean display.

Local EV dealers Auto Court and Gilmour Motors brought several cars, with the Niro presented by Dunedin Kia.

Electric bikes were displayed by Dunedin Electric Bikes, with a demonstration of how many can fit in a Leaf.

A stream of visitors included many with family members who already own an EV.

So the questions were very much slanted to price versus range for their particular circumstances, the Better NZ Trust chair Kathryn Trounson says.

“One of the yardsticks for range was whether the trip to Christchurch from Dunedin could be done without stopping, and what the hills into Palmerston would do to the car’s efficiency. Overall, we all commented on the maturity of the questions from the public – they had a base knowledge which they wanted us to top up.”

More than 400 people were spoken to during the display which finished about an hour early because of rain, Trounson says.

A second event was at the Otago Museum where about another 40-50 people were spoken to during displays.

That was followed by a free screening in the Hutton Theatre of Revenge of the Electric Car which attracted 30 people and included a question and answer session with Leading the Charge traveller Chelsea Sexton of California who was the film’s consulting producer and who has extensive EV knowledge after working in the EV field for 25 years.

The EV road trip heads to Oamaru, Kurow and Tekapo on April 12, Geraldine and Methven on April 13, and Christchurch, Lyttleton and Sumner on April 14 with the final South Island stop at Blenheim on April 16 before heading back to the North Island.

Visit www.leadingthecharge.org.nz or search Facebook for more information.