During the recent 2018 International Drive Electric Week, I was lucky enough to test out the smooth drive of a brand new Yoogo Share BMW i3. It wasn’t just the electric glide, but the whole Yoogo Share experience went smoothly. 

But after I returned the car I felt quite deflated.

Yoogo Share is a fully electric car sharing service.

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Sylvia Wilson drove around Australia in an electric car. It cost her $150.90.

Wilson, 70, a retired farmer from near Biloela in central Queensland, had planned the trip of a lifetime with her husband, Rod. One impulsive evening in mid-2016 they went online and, sight-unseen, bought a Tesla S75 electric car for the journey.

A few months after Rod died last year, Sylvia announced to her family: “I think I’ll do that trip.

“Most of them were really keen. A couple of them said ‘you’re mad, you’ll never do it’,” Wilson told Guardian Australia.

[The Guardian - 11 Sept 2018]

Whangārei, the country's Friendliest Electric Vehicle town, launched Drive Electric Week with a convoy of EVs at the Whangārei Growers Market on Saturday.

[Northern Advocate - 11 Sept 2018]

A 16-month-old thrashed family 7-seater has thoroughly beaten a racing car off the start line at the Highlands Motorsport track. The friendly race had professional drivers in both vehicles at the International Drive Electric Week event in Cromwell on Sunday.

It came as no surprise to the Tesla fans in the crowd, although I'm sure there were some doubts amongst others.

The Ferrari seemed to almost catch the Tesla as it reached the straight line finish, although some claim this may be because electric vehicles can slow just as quickly as they can take off.

The event was organised jointly by FlipTheFleet and the Dunedin EV Owners Group and proudly supported by #LeadingTheCharge.

Electric Vehicles are no strangers to racing, with the overall winner at Pikes Peak, an EV this year as well. Meanwhile, Formula-E is gaining in popularity with speeds becoming almost comparable to Formula One. This is especially so amongst the younger generations apparently because the format suits interactive crowd participation.  The #LeadingTheCharge campaigners are also no strangers to EV vs Petrol racing, with a similar race between a Tesla Model S squarely beating a McLaren supercar four times in a row at Ardmore track, even when the Tesla was carrying an especially great political guest.

There will be another EV track day shortly. This time in the North Island at Hampton Downs racetrack on 7 October, hosted by the Electric Vehicle Association of Aotearoa.

[Rachelle Tilsley - Better NZ Trust - 10 Sept 2018]

If you'll be in either CHRISTCHURCH or AUCKLAND during IDEW: Don't Miss This!

Better NZ Trust has discovered that Yoogo Share are offering a super discounted IDEW rate. Not only that but following on from their astounding success in Christchurch, they've now officially opened their new branch in Auckland.

Yoogo Share are offering their private members a special $10 nightly rate for Intl Drive Electric Week. This means you can drive one of their BMW i3 or Hyundai IONIQs from 6pm to 8am for this great discounted price.

https://www.yoogoshare.co.nz/drive-electric-week-2018

Yoogo Share is currently free to join with no membership fees – To sign up head to yoogoshare.co.nz and make a booking.

Yoogo Share access cards are needed to drive their cars – these cards are your key to drive the pure EVs. Cards usually take 5-7 working days to arrive via mail, however for Intl Drive Electric Week Yoogo Share can speed up this process – just give their team a call on 0800 GO SHARE and they’ll get an access card to you in time for your booking.

What more could you ask of them? A great deal with an unbelievably low overnight price. 

So great that I'm going to try it out myself.

[Rachelle Tilsley - Better NZ Trust - 9 Sept 2018]

#IDEW2018 #IDEW #LEADINGTHECHARGE

What is a #LeadingTheCharge Champion

The EV community in NZ is a passionate collection of people who want to share their EV enthusiasm with the rest of the world. 

They live with the benefits and enjoyment that comes from owning an EV and as good Evangelists want to let other people experience that enjoyment too! These people often join #LeadingTheCharge as volunteer members, as a way of cohesively promoting EV in a big way, rather than lots of individuals doing their own thing.

The “Better NZ Trust” has members living up and down the country, but in each region there is a stand-out local Champion (or two) who either regularly puts their hand up to organise EV events in their area under the Trust umbrella, or supports the Better NZ Trust in some other substantial way. Our Champions are early adopters of EV (many were pioneers) and give a huge amount of their time and care to Champion the Cause of EV through education, displays, events, etc.

And by using the Better NZ Trust umbrella, they can access our collateral, financial support, advice and wider audience. The Trust, in turn, receives its support under its EECA mandate and from its generous sponsors. The Trust was set up by the original EV Champions in NZ, and the current Trustees continue to volunteer their time.  

Don't miss Hamilton's first-ever electrically charged Festival – celebrating the acceleration into our lives of E-vehicles!

Held in partnership with the Waikato Engineering Careers Association and Waikato EV Owners, the EVolocity Electric Wheels Festival, is coming to Kartsport Track, opposite the airport, Saturday, September 29.

The festival includes the Waikato regional finals of EVolocity, the electric vehicle secondary schools competition. Executive Director Rob McEwen says EVolocity Waikato has thirty-nine teams competing from 21 Waikato schools this year, more than any other region in New Zealand. "But, it's not just the number of schools and teams, it's the Waikato attitude and determination which sets them apart from the rest."

Drive Electric Week starts in New Zealand on September 8 with a growing number of events being added to the list.

It will be launched first internationally on September 8 from 7am with an EV display at the Whangarei Growers Market, the display returning on September 15.

The September 8 event is followed by a morning tea at the Totara Cafe in Tikipunga, Whangarei, 10.30am.

Corporate EVs will be displayed and rides and drives available at QBE Stadium in Albany, Auckland, September 8, noon-4pm.

Wellington EV advocates Sigurd Magnusson and Jorn Scherzer talk EVs at the War Memorial Library in Lower Hutt on September 8, 1.3pm-2.30pm.

Flip the Fleet’s Henrik Moller provides short presentations at an EV presentations and drives afternoon the same day at the Central Stories Museum & Art Gallery in Alexandra from 3pm. The event links with an exhibition on climate change.

Complete List of Events here

[Geoff Dobson - EV Talk - 1 September 2018]

Read full EV Talk article here

More than three-quarters of owners who took part in a new "Flip the Fleet" poll believed cash incentives would be needed if more than half of new vehicle registrations were to be electric by 2025.

Of more than 66,000 new or used light vehicle registrations in the first three months of this year, just over 800 were EVs.

As at last month, New Zealand's EV fleet stood at 9,241 - although that was still a big leap from the 206 EVs recorded at the same time five years ago.