Exciting Strategic Changes for Drive Electric
As a result of some solid strategic focus on the future of EVs in New Zealand and the future for Drive Electric, we have progressed two important initiatives. Firstly, the Board, working closely with Rob McEwen (the Executive Director of EVolocity), are pleased to announce that EVolocity has now been 100% acquired by Rob McEwen. […]
Welcome to new Drive Electric Members
We warmly welcome many new members this quarter. Firstly, on the corporate side, Orion Group, the electricity distributor (lines company) servicing the network in central Canterbury, and Mainpower, the lines company servicing the North Canterbury & Kaikoura regions. We have also had Delta Join Drive Electric just last week! Delta operates the Dunedin and Central […]
Drive Electric Plug-In Fleet Day a great success
This was the headline we saw repeatedly after the event and we were certainly thrilled with the event and the feedback from attendees – all 151 of you. A huge thank you to our sponsors for this event also. It was truly a team effort and the best part of the day was hearing feedback […]
Chinese Rival To Google Working With BMW On Autonomous Car, Prototype To Launch This Year
By Bozi Tatarevic. Google isn’t the only tech giant in the autonomous car game any longer as Chinese search engine giant Baidu is hoping to start testing of a self-driving car this year together with BMW. Baidu signed a partnership agreement with the German automaker in 2014 to develop autonomous car technology and now it […]
UK Electric Car Sales Skyrocketing
By James Ayre. Electric vehicle (EV) registrations in the UK between January and May of 2015 are already roughly equal to total EV registrations in 2014, based on the most recent figures from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT). Apparently, there have already been 11,842 ultra-low-emission vehicles (ULEVs) registered in the UK this […]
Daimler to offer Mercedes-Benz energy-storage system
By Ben Coxworth. Tesla recently did it to much acclaim, and now Daimler is doing it too – the German automotive corporation is launching its own home/business battery energy storage system. Developed by Daimler subsidiary Deutsche ACCUmotive, the Mercedes-Benz energy storage unit utilizes lithium-ion batteries to store energy generated by solar cells, wind turbines or […]
Electric Vehicles To Become Mainstream In Short Period Of Time
By Henry Hewitt. What would the world look like if electric cars took the lead in market share by 2030? “Couldn’t happen,” you say? Consider the ramping up of some of the most basic items that have conquered the American market over the past century. Refrigerators went from a luxury item to 60 percent household […]
Simon Bridges on drive for electric vehicles
By Ellen Read. The number of businesses using electric vehicles (EVs) for their company fleet will increase if Transport Minister Simon Bridges has his way. “Next month I plan to lead a delegation with interests in intelligent transport systems (ITS) to Japan and California. While in California I plan to promote New Zealand as a […]
Kiwi Tesla co-founder now making trucks electric
A Kiwi who helped found the Tesla motor group is now leading a rapidly-expanding company which converts diesel trucks into electric hybrids. Ian Wright and some fellow engineers launched Tesla Motors twelve years ago which helped jumpstart the market for electric cars. Now, Mr Wright wants to electrify noisy, gas-guzzling trucks that deliver packages, haul […]
Electric push but few incentives
Transport Minister enthusiastic about EVs but big subsidies or tax breaks off the table. By Grant Bradley. The Government wants to speed up the slow uptake of electric vehicles but won’t be offering any large financial incentives. While in some other countries the adoption of plug-in cars has been rapid – with about 750,000 now […]