There and back (600km) for $85

Drive Electric chair Mark Gilbert travelled from Auckland to the Bay of Plenty and back at the weekend in his Audi e-tron EV and spent $85 on “fuel”.

Gilbert reckons he “drained the tank twice” during the 600km journey and spent less than $80 recharging using ChargeNet’s 150kW fast chargers in Auckland and Mount Maunganui.

“By my calculation, and I did use efficiency drive mode in my Audi e-tron, this equates to less than $0.30c per litre (using $3.00/L fuel equivalent).

“So it’s really a no brainer,” Gilbert adds.

“It’s also quite enjoyable watching the queues build up at service stations along the route we took.”

Gilbert says now is the time to test drive and buy an EV, although EV dealerships report huge demand with a few squabbles developing between customers over EVs.

EV drivers have been asked in one Facebook post not to “gloat” about an EV’s fuel advantage over internal combustion engine (ICE) cars but to help educate and inform others on making the switch.

The Labour Government has announced a 25cent cut per litre for three months to the fuel excise duty (more than 70cents a litre of petrol, with 10c a litre added on in Auckland, excluding GST).

Road user charges (RUC) will be cut by the same amount, also for three months – both set to apply from midnight on March 14.

Additional reporting is planned to support the Government’s expectation that the full amount of tax reduction will be passed on to consumers at the pump.

Public transport fares cut in half for three months to provide cheaper transport options and the Government will top up lost revenue to the Land Transport Fund to ensure all currently funded transport projects will not be affected.

These temporary measures form part of a cost of living relief package that includes April 1 income increases for most New Zealand household.

Almost 60% of families will get an increase to Working for Families of on average $20, superannuation is to increase $52 per fortnight for a single person and $80 for a couple, and benefits to increase up to a further $35 a week.

The Winter Energy Payment restarts on May 1 providing $31.82 a week for couples, and people with dependent children – a total of $700 over winter.

“The global energy crisis has quickly become acute which is why the Government has stepped in to cut fuel duty,” says prime minister Jacinda Ardern, adding the changes will reduce the cost of filling a 40-litre tank of petrol by over $11, and more than $17 for a 60-litre tank.