Incentivising EVs
We know electric cars make sense – but we need a financial push to buy one
From tax incentives to cash grants, ‘price signals’ are the key to increasing the uptake of electric vehicles in New Zealand, writes Victoria University’s Lisa Marriott. ...
"If we are genuinely committed to meeting our carbon targets, words need to be supported by action. Weak policy tools will not achieve strong behavioural change. The road transport sector is one where global experience shows that significant beneficial results are achievable when the tax system is used to influence the price of vehicles. What are we waiting for?"
[Lisa Marriott - The Spinoff - 16 July 2018]
NZEV Statistics to June 30, 2018
June's EV figures are currently being released around the world and as we're at the half-way mark of 2018, it's a good time to check on EV Growth progress.
[Data supplied by Ministry of Transport NZ and EV Sales. photo BAIC EC series flooding China's streets, courtesy of EV Sales]
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Network Tasman Partners with ChargeNet NZ
Network Tasman’s three public fast-charging stations in Nelson, Richmond and Golden Bay will become part of a linked national network of more than 100 fast chargers throughout New Zealand.
The ChargeNet NZ phone app and website will display the availability of chargers and locations, allowing users to plan their route and to see the state of their vehicle charge in progress.
EV owners will be able to pop away while their vehicles are charging and be notified by text when the charging session is finished, or if there is an interruption in the charging session.
EV 101 at Rotary
Rotary Hamilton were treated to a presentation on Electric Vehicles at their weekly meeting last Monday. Local EV Champion, Justin Boyd, organised the event which was held at Sky City Hamilton. He kindly invited our very own Chairperson, Kathryn Trounson, to attend. And Kathryn brought along not only her Tesla Model S to put on display, but yours truly as well. Although the latter was not on display.
[Rachelle Tilsley - Better NZ Trust - 8 Jul 2018]
Read moreInner-city Wellington suburbs in line for more than 25 EV charging ports
Residents in a handful of Wellington's inner-most suburbs have proved to be the most vocal in pushing for electric vehicle charging stations in their streets.
Over the past few months, more than 80 submissions have been received by the Wellington City Council in relation to its new EV initiative, set to be rolled out over the next several months.
[Ruby MacAndrew - Stuff Motoring - 2 July 2018]
Rimac Concept Two Most Important Car of 2018
In a move that would make fellow Croatian Nikola Tesla proud, Rimac Automobili has stunned the automotive world at Geneva.
Of the six most important cars of 2018, the Rimac C Two (BEV) 2-door coupé, has just been voted the Most Important Car of 2018 by Top Speed, the veteran online reviewer of super-powerful and/or luxurious automotive technology.
The Rimac C Two is at sort of a Eureka point of this year so far. The Croatians did the unfathomable and revealed a car that can rewrite the whole premise of a supercar, or a hypercar, whatever.
Beating back the other five finalists from: Volvo, Mercedes, Aston Marton, BMW and Peugeot, the second offering from Croatian Rimac is officially the fastest Super Car in the world.
It will accelerate to 60 mph in 1.85 seconds, it will do 186 mph in 11.8 seconds, and at the top end, the speedo will say 256 mph. Plus an alleged range of 400 miles (643 km) and weight of 4,200 lbs. So impressive are these figures, that Porsche AG has invested in Rimac Automobili. All this with a move towards "manganese nickel" chemistry in its li-ion batteries makes the Rimac a deserving winner of the title "Most Important".
Presently keeping the name "Concept", the car is in fact a production model. Although deliveries won't start until 2020, the car is available for pre-sales. After showing it at the Geneva Motor Show, all 150 cars were sold within three weeks. With a starting price is $2.1 million, on average, buyers added $615,300 of options. Mad.
[Safet Satara - Top Speed - July 1, 2018]
VW electric racer breaks records at Pikes Peak Hill Climb
Since 1916, cars of all types and more recently motorcycles have been competing in this gruelling uphill race.
With an official time of 7:57.148, VW’s fully electric racer beat the previous EV record of 8:57.118 set in 2016, as well as the overall course record of 8:13.878 set in 2013.*
Overall winners can compete under any class of cars or motorcycles, although the majority come from the open wheel and more recently the unlimited classes.
* Two previous faster times were on a shortened course.
[Charles Morris - 2 July 2018 - Charged EVs Magazine, Newswire]
London to add 68 electric double-decker buses to its fleet
Even the iconic London Bus is about to go electric with 68 electric buses being added to the fleet.
[Charles Morris - 3 July 2018 - ChargedEVs, Newswire]
Meanwhile, in Wellington, the launch of their first electric buses will be happening by July 5th.
[Geoff Dobson - 4 July 2018 - EV Talk]
Busting EV Myths Part 3
Click to view infographicPart 3:
Myth "EVs Don't Go Far"
Myth: "It Takes Hours to Charge"
Myth: "There's No Infrastructure"
WEL Networks opens new rapid charger at Hampton Downs
WEL Networks has taken its tally of electric vehicle (EV) fast chargers in the Waikato to six, with the latest going live at Hampton Downs this week.
The new EV fast charger is the first of its kind at the popular motorsport complex and is located in the Gate 1 carpark.
“There has been a great level of interest from our manufacture-based clients who increasingly want to show off the latest technology in their products. It will not only allow them to demonstrate the EV technology in the normal context of road driving, but also show off the performance levels of the technology by making use of the tracks here at Hampton Downs," says Hampton Downs Track Manager, Elton Goonan.
WEL Networks has previously installed fast chargers at Maui Street, Caro Street and Waikato Innovation Park in Hamilton, as well as on Wayside Road in Te Kauwhata and Bow Street in Raglan.
[WEL Networks - 28 June 2018]
Free plug-in and charge stations for Electric Vehicles at Auckland City carparks
Auckland Transport and leading electric vehicle charging provider, ChargeNet NZ, have formed a strategic partnership to install the first 27 of a network of 60 conveniently located free standard electric vehicle charging stations around Auckland.
[Shawn Moody - ChargeNet NZ - 27 Jun 2018]
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.
Busting EV Myths Part 2
Part 2 of 6.
Double click to make larger or click on infographic to bring up a menu with magnifier.
Myth: "They Look Ugly"
Myth: "There's No Skill In Driving Them"
Myth: "They're Not As Fast"
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]
Busting EV Myths Part 1
It's hard to counter all the misinformation that exists about EVs in just a few sentences. Especially where the topic is quite involved. The Better NZ Trust has produced this series of informal, simplified infographics to give #LeadingTheCharge volunteers talking points. Please share.
In Part One we Bust the following Myths:
Myth: "EV's Can't Tow"
Myth: "They're Too Expensive"
Myth: "They're Just A Fad"
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]
Petrol Prices Don't Bother Auckland EV Owner
Auckland EV promoter, Sean Dick hasn’t visited a fuel station since he bought his Tesla electric car.
Auckland Council voted on May 31, 2018 to implement a fuel tax of 11.5 cents per litre that will be added to the cost of petrol and diesel sold in the Auckland region from July 1.
[Chris Harrowell - Stuff News - June 11, 2018]
The Sceptic In Me Just Died - Driven
D'Arcy is a full on petrol head and deeply cynical about full-electric vehicles. But in Driven Uniques he gets behind the wheel of an EV for the first time, with surprisingly pleasing results.
[Driven.co.nz - Driven Uniques - 12 June 2018]