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]
EECA Funding Brought Forward
There’s more money in the pot for EV innovators seeking co-funding in the next 12 months.
EECA has brought forward an additional $1 million for the Government’s Low Emission Vehicles Contestable Fund for the 2018/19 financial year, making a grand total of $7 million available for rounds 5 and 6.
“We want to get more projects underway earlier, when investment is likely to have greater impact in accelerating uptake of EVs,” says EECA’s Chief Executive Andrew Caseley. “This will more effectively support the target of 64,000 EVs by 2021.”
The funding is being moved forward from the final year of the contestable fund, 2020/21.
Round 5 is due to open in mid-August, with successful applicants from round 4 announced at around the same time.
[Electric Vehicle News - EECA - 13 June 2018]
World's Largest EV Rally Kicks Off
Whether sharing their knowledge with community, or just a sense of unflagging camaraderie, 160 such teams ranging from solo shade-tree mechanics to major corporations to visiting tourists in rented Nissan Leaf and BMW i3s took to the roads in Switzerland to participate in the largest electric-vehicle rally in the world.
[Eric C. Evarts - Green Car Reports - 12 June 2018]
Tesla’s latest update comes with more ‘nag’
The new Autopilot software update that Tesla started to roll out last week features some improvements in performance as promised by CEO Elon Musk. But now, owners are also finding out that Tesla significantly increased the “nag” to force drivers to keep their hands on the wheel.
[Fred Lambert - Electrek - 11 June 2018]
New Model Updates: Porsche vs Tesla
The eagerly awaited Mission E doesn't aim to be a Tesla killer, it aims to be a 'real Porsche', claims Stefan Weckbach, Head of the BEV Model Series at Porsche.
Meanwhile, will the new Tesla Model Y even have a steering wheel? Elon Musk teases with tidbits of information and a new peek at the styling and shape of this Model-3-sized SUV.
[Electrek - Fred Lambert - 5 & 6 June, 2018]
Nissan begins deliveries of upgraded e-NV200 electric van
Nissan has received over 4,600 orders for its upgraded e-NV200 since sales began in January. The new electric van is now being shipped to customers in Europe and Hong Kong, with Japanese deliveries to follow.
[Charged EVS Newswire by Charles Morris, 4 June 2018]
NZ joins global Electric Vehicle Initiative
New Zealand has joined a multi-government forum of the world’s top electric vehicle markets dedicated to accelerating the uptake of electric vehicles.
Membership of the Electric Vehicle Initiative (EVI) will link New Zealand into international best practice around electric vehicles (EVs) including policy, research and information sharing, said Andrew Caseley, Chief Executive of the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority (EECA).
[EECA - 30 May 2018]
Cops patrol on e-bikes
Auckland police patrolled the downtown area on electric bikes during Queen’s Birthday weekend.
[EVTalk, Geoff Dobson, 5th June 2018]
Read moreDismissive Car Dealers Create Barrier to EV Adoption at POS
"Perhaps unsurprisingly, salespeople tended to promote the vehicle that is easier to sell, which outside of Norway, was undoubtedly not an EV."
A recent study published in the journal Nature by a team from Aarhus University in Denmark has found that car dealerships pose a significant barrier to electric vehicle adoption at the point of sale due to a perceived lack of business case viability in relation to gasoline and diesel vehicles.
Read morePower of the Butterfly Effect
POWER OF THE BUTTERFLY EFFECT
Does the Flap of a Butterfly's Wings in Brazil Set Off a Tornado in Texas?
Probably not, but meteorologist Edward Lorenz's chaos theory, the Butterfly Effect, has evolved in popular culture to describe the ability of a small action to create a larger effect.
Nowhere in New Zealand was this more evident than in Dunedin last week. This Little But Mighty city hosted a kaleidoscope of EVents during Tech Week—a huge effort by local volunteers and guests. Here’s the roundup.
Read moreHarry and Meghan's Jaguar E-Type EV
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's royal wedding car was literally something old, something new, something borrowed and something blue.
The royal couple drove away in a Jaguar E-Type Zero, a classic 1968 E-Type roadster that has been converted to run on cutting-edge electric power.
[Stuff Motoring - 21 May 2018]
Conservation Comment: Leading the charge for electric cars
Last week, James Shaw announced he would like to put a tax on imported petrol vehicles to subsidise and encourage electric vehicles (EVs).
[Whanganui Chronicle - Opinion - 7th May 2018]
Easy charging breaks the long distance barrier
People are getting to know electric cars (EVs) as economical run-abouts, perfect for the average daily commute. Owners can easily zip through 100 kilometres and recharge at home overnight, when cheaper electricity rates mean costs are equivalent to about 30c a litre.
[Stuff Business - 6th May 2018]
Leading The Charge Road Trip 2018 - Wrap up
The annual Leading the Charge road trip is over for 2018. Another great adventure was enjoyed by the dozen or so drivers who took in large sections, or all of, the route this year.
By time we got to the start, ran the course, and took test rides, the total distance traveled was just under 6000km.
Read more