Video: NZ’s 10,000th EV celebrated

New Zealand’s 10,000th electric vehicle owner received a visit from associate transport minister and climate change minister James Shaw on September 21.

Shaw dropped in on Lawrence Heath, manager of Claridges Organic, Christchurch, during a flight across the country, to congratulate the Nissan Leaf owner.

“Ten thousand EVs is an important milestone, particularly when you think that five years ago we had just 210 EVs registered,” Shaw says.

“However, when you look at the huge number of vehicles in New Zealand it’s really our first baby step into an electric future. We now need to gear up for a leap forward.

“Right now, EVs make up just 0.25% of the four million vehicles on our roads.

“New Zealand is one of just a handful of countries without strong incentives, like fuel efficiency standards, to help bring down the cost of EVs. The independent Productivity Commission has pointed out that we risk becoming a dumping ground for polluting vehicles as other countries push ahead and start phasing them out.

“The Government is now investigating a range of options to make electric vehicles easier for Kiwis to buy.”

Energy and resources minister Megan Woods is on her way back from the 12th annual meeting of the New Champions World Economic Forum in China (September 17-20) and says EVs will play an important role in New Zealand’s future.

“EVs are just one of many technological advancements that will transform our energy sector and help us make the move towards our goal of being net zero carbon by 2050,” she says.

“That’s why the Government is investing in infrastructure to support the uptake of EVs.

“We are demonstrating the rapidly-evolving potential of EVs by supporting projects that include food delivery, to rubbish collection, putting electric buses on the roads, and filling gaps in our charging infrastructure.”