Samoa’s first electric car

Samoana Rentals has scored a first by bringing the first all-electric car into Samoa, the Nissan Leaf.

“This is the future of Samoa because it will save a lot of money in petrol, diesel and oil. At present we are testing it out for use on the airport run to pick up people,” says owner of Samoana Rentals Leiataua James Arp.

He explains that the cost of charging a battery from empty to full is roughly $16 tala or NZ$8.72, and that the car’s range when fully charged is 210km “depending on how you drive and if you accelerate more”.

He adds that Samoana Rentals will import more electric cars once Samoa’s duty and customs department’s legislation has been changed because currently the duty is based on the engine size and the year of the vehicle whereas the electric car doesn’t have an engine but a CC rating.

He points out that Samoa is way behind other countries like New Zealand, Cook Islands, Tahiti and Fiji when it comes to electric cars and their infrastructure. “In Fiji, Cook Island and Tahiti, all electric cars are duty free because they want to bring down the cost of their importation in terms of petrol and fuels.”