Evnex chief criticises Govt’s EV charging plan

Evnex founder and chief executive Ed Harvey has criticised the Government’s newly announced $50 million public EV charging plan, describing it as a “watered-down” re-announcement of an earlier election promise.

In a LinkedIn post, Harvey says the plan falls short of what is needed to accelerate electrification in New Zealand.

“It’s good to see a slight shift in messaging, but this morning’s announcement… is little more than a photo opportunity and a watered-down re-announcement of an election promise that National has already underdelivered on,” he says.

Harvey welcomed some aspects of the policy, including comments from Infrastructure Minister Chris Bishop recognising the Government’s role in electrification, and moves to reduce consenting barriers for rapid EV chargers.

He also pointed to statements from Climate Change Minister Simon Watts and Finance Minister Nicola Willis supporting the economic and environmental case for EVs.

However, Harvey says the policy underdelivers on previous commitments and criticised comments suggesting EV uptake relies on subsidies.

“It’s disappointing to see the narrative continuing that EVs are a toy for wealthy people to putt around the city in,” he says.

He says the market has evolved, with a wider range of EV options now available for different use cases, including for tradespeople and some rural applications.

Harvey also says Government policy in recent years has contributed to declining consumer confidence in electrification.

“I hope this is the first step of many to correct that,” he says.