First published in EV TALK 28 March 2019 - Geoff Dobson

Bad weather has delayed the start of The Leading the Charge Great EV Road Trip and has also required one diversion.

The Better NZ Trust event now begins in Taupo on March 30 after rain forced cancellation of the March 28 start in Rotorua.

All-Electric Car Sales In UK Doubled Again In February 2019

London Wins Right to Host Formula E Next Season

It's Official. While Auckland was twiddling its thumbs on the subject, London has streaked ahead and scored the Series that this year is proving to be so much more popular than it has in the past.

Set to take place around the city's iconic Royal Docks and ExCeL London, the drivers will navigate their way around a one-of-a-kind track indoor/outdoor 2.4km clockwise circuit around Royal Victoria Dock. 

Consisting of 23 corners, the track layout will see the drivers run along the Thames waterfront for the season finale double-header of the 2019/20 campaign on July 25 & 26 2020 - subject to circuit homologation and approval of the FIA World Motor Sport Council.

Timaru 12 Year Old Wins Contest in Protest About Petrol Cars and Bullying

Oli Kirke's protest against petrol cars and bullying has earned him the top prize for his age group in a Department of Conservation writing competition.

The 12-year-old Grantlea Downs School pupil won the age 11-14 category of the summer writing competition hosted by DOC's Arthur's Pass branch, for his short story Goodbye Dino-juice.

The story, set in 2024, follows a 1950s Cadillac named Bailey as he leaks petrol and yearns to stop "destroying this planet". Nople, the latest Tesla Model X, teases him for his "stinky old butt" until he stands up to her - after which she fits him with an electric motor.

Oli said his story was a protest hoped to encourage people to swap their petrol cars for electric, and to put more effort into understanding and helping each other.

Vector and Chargetrip Partner to Ease Anxiety Amongst EV Owners at Busy Charging Stations

New Zealand's EV Owners are getting a welcome boost from New Zealand's largest Energy distributor Vector who has teamed up with Dutch start-up Chargetrip.

Range Anxiety vs Charge Anxiety

Range anxiety is a term often used to describe the stress EV users experience when their destination is or could be further than their car battery’s range, and they fear they could end up stranded on the side of the road. Charge anxiety is caused by the uncertainty of waiting lines at charge stations. Both are considered major barriers keeping people from switching to electric driving.

To put more control and freedom in the hands of EV users, Vector and Chargetrip are adapting a popular EV journey planning app for the New Zealand market, that equips EV drivers with journey planning information that is tailored to them, their trip, and their EV.

Topography and Weather will be taken into account when calculating range

The app is based on the popular Chargetrip service used by more than 50,000 EV drivers in Norway—which has the largest number of EV users per capita in the world. The app will offer Kiwi EV drivers route planning and navigation guidance, suggesting the optimal charge stops along the way.

To help fund the app’s adaptation to the New Zealand market, Vector and Chargetrip have been awarded a grant from Elemental Excelerator (Elemental)—a growth accelerator that has funded more than 50 projects globally.

Vector’s Group Chief Executive Simon Mackenzie said, “We are thrilled to be partnering with Chargetrip, with support from Elemental, to create a tool that improves the overall experience for EV owners, who we know have very different needs compared to drivers of internal combustion engines.

“Vector has long been committed to stimulating and facilitating uptake of EVs in New Zealand and we have a network of EV chargers in Auckland. We have invested in new EV related technologies such as Vehicle-to-Home, which allows EV’s to become mobile sources of energy and we are now excited to be working towards improving the user experience for EV drivers,” Simon said.

The app will also inform people about their CO2 savings per journey and will be compatible with every EV type regardless of make, model or configuration.

The app will include information for public charging locations throughout New Zealand, their availability (to help avoid queues), as well as real-time assessment of the environmental factors that can impact EV batteries, such as topography and temperature.

It will utilise data from NZ Transport Agency’s EVRoam database of public EV charging infrastructure. EVRoam collects data directly from electric vehicle charging infrastructure providers and freely distributes it to a wide range of transport maps, apps and websites.

Chargetrip's CEO Gideon van Dijk said, “Electric mobility is a crucial catalyst in the renewable energy transition. We are excited to partner with Vector and Elemental, who both have an impressive track record at moving the needle. Range anxiety, waiting lines, and complex logistics are some of the biggest hurdles to rapid EV adoption. We are committed to solving these barriers and empowering drivers to make the switch to a cleaner transportation.”

Ramsay Siegal, Elemental Excelerator’s Managing Director said, “We are proud to partner with Vector, a global leader in energy innovation, and help Chargetrip scale its pioneering smart navigation technology. This project is a perfect example of how startups and utilities can collaborate for transformative change, and we're excited to share lessons from New Zealand to support faster EV adoption worldwide.”

ORIX New Zealand has launched a new initiative—ORIX NZ EVi—aimed at pushing electric vehicles into NZ fleets. 

They are now offering a programme where businesses with 16 or more lease vehicles on an ORIX Sole Supply agreement the opportunity to upgrade one of their fleet’s vehicles to a selected electric vehicle at the same lease rate as the fossil fuel equivalent. This has become possible, thanks to co-funding from the Government's Low Emission Vehicles Contestable Fund, administered by the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority (EECA) 

The Orix NZ EVi programme will include the installation of an AC charging unit at the business premises free of charge and provide opening charging credit.

The aim for the project is to remove many of the barriers businesses face when attempting to incorporate an electric vehicle into their fleet.

ORIX has seen increasing interest in adding electric vehicles to fleets but they claim the reality is that the majority of those businesses are reluctant to invest the higher upfront costs. By removing the additional cost of an electric vehicle, the cost of the charging unit and by handling most of the admin, ORIX is hoping to eliminate the barriers. This will integrate electric vehicles into a wider range of businesses over a three year period, giving them the opportunity to experience and fully evaluate an electric vehicle for their organisation.

The Better NZ Trust agrees with Orix and EECA, of the importance of getting electric cars into business fleets. This will ensure a flourishing second-hand EV market in the years to come, making sustainable transport affordable for a wider range of NZers. 

[Rachelle Tilsley - 10 Feb 2019]

image supplied by Orix NZ

Good infrastructure is seen as essential to the promotion of EV sales and use in NZ. 

image PAUL SHERLEY/BMW NZ

[David Linklater - Stuff - 30 Jan 2019]

The latest round of the Government's Low Emission Vehicles Contestable Fund has once again thrown the spotlight on New Zealand's charging infrastructure.

The fund, which provides up to $7 million per year to contribute up to half of project costs to promote the uptake of Electric Vehicles (EVs), named Ngai Tahu Tourism as one of its recipients.

Partnering with ChargeNet, Ngai Tahu will install DC fast chargers at key tourist spots including Franz Josef Glacier, Queenstown and Glenorchy.