Test drive EVs from 16 brands at Auckland’s NZ EV & Tech Expo

Visitors to the NZ EV & Tech Expo in Auckland next month will be able to test drive EVs from 16 brands, on a route next to Auckland Showgrounds.

The first NZ EV & Tech Expo runs from 13 to 15 November. Test drives last 15 to 20 minutes and can be booked with Geely, Tesla, BYD, Kia, Toyota, Volvo, Polestar, Zeekr, Honda, Subaru, GWM, GAC, Denza, Leapmotor, Dongfeng and BAIC. They are included with admission, but places are limited and drivers need a full New Zealand licence.

Expo founder and director Steven Lin says the event is meant to help buyers make sense of a fast-growing market.

“There has never been more choice for New Zealanders looking at an electric vehicle, or more to make sense of. We created the NZ EV & Tech Expo so people can step out from behind their screens, get behind the wheel, compare the options side by side and have their questions answered by experts, all in one place,” says Lin.

Battery electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles made up 25.2% of new light vehicle registrations in September, according to Drive Electric’s analysis of NZTA data, up from 9.1% a year earlier. Our September registrations story has the full breakdown.

A programme of talks, panels and demonstrations will cover charging, battery safety, ownership costs, finance, buying a first or used EV, driver-assistance technology, solar and smart charging, and whether New Zealand’s charging network can keep up with EV growth.

“Our talks and panels cover everything from charging and battery safety to ownership costs, financing and driver-assistance technology,” says the expo’s advisory director for AI, digital and tech strategy, Dr Ashwin Jaiswal.

Supporting partner EROAD will show its ROADRUNR service, which tracks an EV owner’s road user charges balance, estimates how long it will last and sends alerts when it runs low. It also handles RUC, WOF and registration renewals in one place.

Unitree humanoid robots, Pudu service robots and Hypershell wearable exoskeletons will also be on show, along with smart-home and clean energy technology.

Early-bird tickets are $10 plus a booking fee until 1 November. Children under 16 get in free with an adult. Tickets and test-drive details are at evtechexpo.co.nz.