ChargeNet NZ Needs Help From Wellington EV Owners
One in four Wellington residents have no garage so must park on the street
The Wellington Council says one in four Wellington residents have no garage so must park on the street — that’s a significant hurdle to Wellington EV ownership.
There are currently over a thousand EVs registered in the capital city and this number is growing fast. These EVs are going to need somewhere to charge and ChargeNet NZ wants to make street charging accessible to those who can't charge at home.
"If you’re an EV owner in Wellington (or would like to own one soon) we’d love you to take a couple minutes before July 13 to make an online submission to the Wellington City Council and show support for the installation of a network of convenient on-street chargers for residents," says Shawn Moodie of solPR.
"It’s all part of the plan by us and the Council, with support from EECA, to turn our capital city into a low carbon city with cleaner air and a healthier and more enjoyable environment. There’s a lot to love about EVs. They’re cheaper to run (only 15% of the cost of running an equivalent sized petrol vehicle), good for the environment, and fun to drive but without proper charging infrastructure in place Wellington is going to fall behind the rest of the country. ..."
[Shawn Moodie - ChargeNet NZ - 26 June 2018]
Finally a Luxury Customisable Motorcycle with CCS Charging
With a massive 15kWh Li-ion battry, Italian Volt's new "Lacama" Motorcyle offers a 200 km range and can be recharged from 0 to 100% with a Level 2 AC 6 kW charger, or in just 40 minutes using a DC fast charge CCS standard.
[Micah Toll - Electrek - 25 Jun 2018]
Franklin Drivers Invited
For Goodness Grocer owners Stephanie Martin and partner Karl Kippenberger, the rising cost of fuel meant the decision to switch to electric came as a "no brainer".
[James Baker - Waikato Times - 25 June 2018]
For those of you interested in making the switch from petrol to EV, PlugNDrive and Goodness Grocer will be holding an open day on June 30 from 11am to 2pm at Goodness Grocer's store in lower King Street, Pukekohe.
Will California Reach 10% EV Sales Market Share By December 2018?
While EVs are still being purchased primarily by “green” and early-adopting consumers, media coverage continues to grow and is generally shifting from a “If?” EVs will go mainstream to “When?”
California reached an impressive 7.83% EV market share of new vehicle registrations for the month of April 2018. Could California reach 10% by the end of 2018? In short, yes.
[Loren McDonald - EV Adoption - 23 June 2018]
Tesla Semi Glides Across Golden Gate Bridge
Tesla recently shared a short video clip of the silver Semi stealthily gliding over the Golden Gate Bridge while hauling a trailer on the way to Santa Rosa, CA.
[Simon Alvarez - Teslarati - 21 June 2018]
Audi e-tron quattro electric SUV to have ‘intelligent charging functions’ optimised for solar
Several electric automakers are venturing into the energy generation aspect of charging electric vehicles. Tesla is leading the charge after its acquisition of SolarCity.
Now several other automakers are getting on board and Audi is partnering with SMA Solar Technology to have ‘intelligent charging functions’ optimized for solar in the upcoming e-tron quattro electric SUV.
In an effort to improve vehicle aerodynamic performance, Audi is introducing an option of “virtual exterior mirrors”, which consists of replacing the mirrors with cameras that will display what they see on OLED displays in the transition between the instrument panel and door.
[Courtesy of Fred Lambert - Electrek - June 18, 2018]
Lower Hutt to ‘buzz’ with electric vehicles
A convoy of electric vehicles (EVs) are buzzing into Lower Hutt this month as part of the #LeadingTheCharge country wide road trip.
The exhibition will arrive at Dowse square on Thursday 22 March after having travelled roughly half of their journey from Bluff to Cape Reinga.
Aimed at promoting electric vehicles the silent convoy of BMW i3, Hyundai IONIQ, Nissan Leaf and Tesla will allow Hutt City residents and CBD businesses to see a range of EVs, chat to drivers and even take the wheel for that important ‘test drive’.
[Press Release - Hutt City Council - 18 June 2018]
Read morePetrol Cars Headed The Way of the Horse and Cart
The New Zealand Transport Agency has begun thinking about how it may need to prepare for the arrival of autonomous vehicles such as this Volkswagen driverless concept car.
[Tom Pullar-Strecker - Business Day - June 18, 2018]
Fieldays: Driven takes a look at the new Kona BEV
For those that can't make it to Fieldays in Hamilton, Sam Wallace of Driven.co.nz has reviewed the new all electric Kona compact SUV in a video here.
One year after launching the company’s first full-electric car, Hyundai has revealed its second EV model for the first time in New Zealand which features double the range, power and segment appeal.
The Hyundai Kona Electric, modelled after the Kona small SUV launched earlier this year, will be the first full-electric compact SUV to go on sale in New Zealand when the first models arrive in showrooms from August.
Due to “massive public interest,” Hyundai New Zealand especially organised a pre-production model to be flown in for the model’s public debut at Fieldays this week.
Hyundai New Zealand General Manager Andy Sinclair says the Kona Electric blends ground-breaking EV technology with New Zealand’s favourite body style, the SUV.
“We have worked hard to ensure New Zealand is one of the very first markets to be able to see the Kona Electric,” said Sinclair.
Final pricing will be announced closer to the launch date however customers can pre-order now from local dealer.
[Driven - David Kavermann - 13 June 2018]
Renault Invests over $1 Billion Euros to Accelerate EV Production
Earlier this year, Renault upgraded the Zoe with a more powerful electric motor and the vehicle has continued to sell well in France and a few other European markets.
Renault says that it posted “38% growth in electric vehicle sales in Europe, with a 44% increase in ZOE registrations and a 23.8% market share in 2017.”
Other EVs should soon join the Zoe in the lineup. The Renault, Nissan & Mitsubishi alliance announced that it will launch 12 new all-electric vehicles within the next 5 years.
They are now working on the supply chain and production facilities to produce those vehicles.
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Introduce a new Alliance electric platform in Douai to create a second Renault electric vehicle production site;
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Double ZOE production capacity and the launch of a new ZOE at Flins, the only ZOE production site in the world;
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Triple electric motor production capacities at Cleon and introduce a new generation electric motor from 2021.
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Invest in Maubeuge for the production of the next generation of the Kangoo family, including the electric utility vehicle Kangoo Z.E.
[Fred Lambert - Electrek - 14 June 2018]