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

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. 

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