Updates on EECA's work to grow the number of electric vehicles on New Zealand roads. No Images? Click here Electric Vehicle News Kia ora More and more people are plugging in then getting out and about - we've had electric convoys travelling the length of New Zealand and one intrepid driver travelling the globe in his EV! This month, find out about who's been hitting a road near you, how it keeps getting easier to go further, and which events are coming up, where you can see and hear the latest in EV developments. EVworld, Auckland, 1-3 AugustEECA is proud once again to sponsor EVworld NZ, now in its third year! EVworld NZ brings together an industry conference, trade industry forums and expo, public day expo, Champions Awards, and EV ride and drive experiences. This year, to further support the electrification of corporate and public sector vehicle fleets and help enable the transition to a low-carbon transport system, the EVworld NZ Industry Conference has been expanded to two full days. The industry conference (1-2 August) will provide high level discussion, insightful case studies, practical guidance and in-depth business use cases for EV adoption. The trade expo (2 August) will provide an opportunity for fleet managers and business owners to learn more about the latest vehicles and explore opportunities that EVs can offer a business. Finally the public expo (3 August) is an opportunity for the public to experience rides and drives, and learn more about buying and owning their own EV. 2019 EXPO FEATURES:
EMBARK, Auckland, 24 July EMBARK is a one-day event that will empower business action on climate change, and mark the first anniversary of the Climate Leaders Coalition (CLC). Attendees will be the first to hear the CLC's new statement, and will hear speakers from the Climate Leaders Coalition including Air New Zealand, NZ Post, Westpac, Z Energy, The Warehouse Group, SKYCITY, Ports of Auckland, Meridian, and Fonterra talk about what they have done to reduce their emissions. They will also share practical tips to empower businesses to draw up their transition plans, measure their carbon footprints, set an emissions reduction target and finance it. If you've taken the step to make your own transport low-carbon, and you're looking at how your business could do the same, EMBARK will connect you with others on the same journey, and give you real insight into how you can achieve your goals. The aim of EMBARK is that by the end of the day attendees will come away with the building blocks of a great transition plan and will be connected with the people who can help them turn their plan into reality. EECA is proud to sponsor EMBARK, and we look forward to meeting you there. Click below to register. The Great EV Road Trip, bigger than everThe 2019 Great EV Road Trip is now completed: 38 events, over 28 days and 6,375 km driven. Kathryn Trounson, Chair of the Better NZ Trust, says "There were three core cars that set off from Auckland but over the four weeks 17 other EVs, including a Britz EV camper van, joined us to do legs of the journey. The washed out bridge at Franz Joseph had us detour to avoid the west coast, but from Dunedin we had at least six vehicles travelling together and over a dozen at most events." This is the fifth year the Trust has organized the Great EV Road Trip, and tEV champions continue to provide generously of their time and vehicles. Kathryn says, "A new Jaguar i-Pace owner willingly took the public for rides in his pride and joy because he just wanted to share his good fortune! A new owner of Tesla Model X also took many people for rides and spoke at length about his vehicle and the joy of driving an EV." Kathryn adds that interest is really growing in EVs, with would-be owners quizzing the road trippers at length about their vehicles and what kind of car might be best for them. "But most heart-warming were the new EV owners who came to an event to tell us they had bought an EV as a result of speaking with us on last year's Road Trip." Better NZ Trust with be at EVworld (above). Click the link below to visit their site and read about the trip in full. Photo: EVs parked up with Lake Manapouri in the background. Greg Trounson, Better NZ Trust. EV adventurer arrives in WellingtonWiebe Wakker has driven 100,000km in his EV, from Amsterdam to Sydney, crowd-sourcing EV charging, meals and accommodation through his website Plug Me In Project, along the way. Although he completed his goal to reach Sydney in early April, he’s now exploring New Zealand in an electric vehicle. “I’ve always wanted to come to New Zealand, but in my original plan I didn’t think it would be possible. However, I received some great support to ship my vehicle over here from Sydney and I have the opportunity for a sort of encore to complete my global EV adventure”. He’s been impressed by the enthusiasm for EVs in New Zealand, with over 13,700 EVs currently registered, and the growing charging network that he’ll make use of throughout his journey. There are now fast chargers at least every 75 km on 90 per cent of New Zealand’s state highway network, and with three or four new stations typically arriving in more locations every month. Mr Wakker will travel back to Auckland in time for the EV World Event in August. Wiebe Wakker’s journey in New Zealand has been made possible with the support of Proxima, THL, Ports of Auckland, DB, EECA and Wallenius Wilhelmsen. Photo: Her Excellency Ms Mira Woldberg, Dutch Ambassador to New Zealand; Hon Dr Megan Woods, Minister for Energy and Resources; and Weibe Wakker at Parliament. How to drive an EV without owning one EV enthusiast, Liz Yeaman, Managing Director of Retyna, and her travelling companion, used two different EV car share companies, Mevo and Yoogo Share, to take a long weekend break in North Canterbury. Mevo offers Audi e-tron plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEV) in Wellington, where Yeaman lives. The Audi drives up to 50 km on electricity then switches over to petrol. She took advantage of an overnight special which allowed her to pick up an Audi in the city after 6 pm and take it home for the night. She used Mevo's app to locate the car. A particularly cool feature of the Mevo system is that you also use the app to unlock and lock the car, so that your phone is the car key! Click below to read the full story. Photo: Liz Yeaman. |