EVs at free weekend expo

A two-day battery electric vehicle (BEV) expo at Christchurch’s Te Pae Convention Centre gives people an opportunity to learn what might suit them.

The Take Charge Christchurch Expo organised by the Christchurch City Council will have more than 50 BEVs on display on September 17 (10am-5pm) and September 18 (9am-5pm).

Included are BEV cars, vans, the LDV eT60 ute, off-roaders, motorcycles and mopeds at a range of price points.

Audi, BMW, BYD, Fiat, Ford, Hyundai, Jaguar, Kia, Lexus, Mazda, Mercedes-Benz, Mini, Nissan, Peugeot, Polestar, Porsche, Subaru, Tesla, Volkswagen, Applestone and Tuatara are among four-wheeled brands at the event.

About 20 electric motorcycle and moped brands will include Go Charged, Horwin, Lifan, Lima, Niu, Super Soco, Sur Ron, Talaria, Timemoto and UBCO.

Expo admission is free for the public, while there’s a chance to win prizes such entry to a draw to win the use of a BEV for a specified time.

“We really encourage the public to come down, take a look at the battery electric vehicles and ask questions of the expert exhibitors so they can learn all about this exciting technology,’’ says council resource efficiency manager Kevin Crutchley.

“On-road petrol and diesel transportation make up about 36% of our district’s emissions,” he explains.

“If we want to achieve our stated goal of halving greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 then we need to encourage people to make the shift to zero exhaust emission vehicles and to other modes of zero emission transportation.”