November Member Updates
YOOGO Yoogo’s Electric Car Sharing Scheme is rolling into Christchurch EV readers may notice a jump in Hyundai Ioniq and BMW i3 registrations in New Zealand. Yoogo Share has been the catalyst. This week their first pure EV’s roll into Christchurch with city-based vehicle numbers increasing to 100 BEV’s by March 2018. With Yoogo Share’s […]
Media release: Driverless future on the horizon
Vehicles that can drive themselves might seem like something straight out of a science fiction film. But new research from Drive Electric shows autonomous vehicles will be a reality much sooner than many people think. The not-for-profit group’s latest white paper The Road to a Driverless Future shows just how quickly the technology is progressing. […]
Media release: FBT “Switch” scheme for electric vehicles entering corporate fleets would drive more corporate demand
Not-for-profit group Drive Electric is encouraging the new government to look at a fringe benefit tax (FBT) innovation that would encourage corporate uptake of electric vehicles. Drive Electric’s suggested “Switch” scheme would involve the incoming EV attracting the lower FBT rate of the outgoing fossil fuel vehicle. FBT is lower on fossil fuel vehicles because […]
Shared EV Fleet for Christchurch
Drive Electric Member Yoogo, an innovative Kiwi fleet management company, has been selected by the Christchurch City Council to implement the largest transition of combustion engines to shared electric vehicles in the Southern Hemisphere. Supported by EECA’s Low Emission Vehicles Contestable Fund, Yoogo will initially launch 70 electric vehicles across three city hubs in late […]
New Member Profile – Nigel Broomhall of Chargemaster
In 2009 Meridian Energy’s electric vehicle program brought 3 commercial prototype Mitsubishi iMievs into New Zealand. It was the first time in Mitsubishi’s history that they had ever allowed one of their prototypes out of the country, let alone 3. They were of course closely monitored every step of their journey across NZ. This was […]
EVs ways of the future: Gilbert
Drive Electric chairman Mark Gilbert is passionate about electric vehicles (EVs). He leads the not-for-profit group, which advocates for the uptake of EVs. “As a country, we’ve really got to embrace electric vehicles and talk about them in the same breath as petrol and diesel ones,” Gilbert says. Drive Electric has many functions, from lobbying […]
“Rapid switch to electric cars could put pressure on electricity grid” – Interview with Eric Pellicer
Eric Pellicer is the Commercial Manager at Powerco. In an interview on Newstalk ZB’s Larry Williams Drive show, he discusses the implications of a rapid uptake of EVs could have on our electricity network, and how this can be a great opportunity for some creative problem-solving. Click here to listen to the interview in full.
What challenges do EVs pose for electricity infrastructure?
How the growing number of electric vehicles will affect New Zealand’s electricity infrastructure is an issue Drive Electric has been investigating. The not-for-profit group’s latest white paper Peak Pressure: what challenges do electric vehicles pose to New Zealand’s electricity grid? suggests co-operation between electricity wholesalers, retailers and the vehicle industry is key. Drive Electric board […]
Electric Vehicles the Way of the Future
The following article was published in the June issue of AutoTalk. Click here to view the full publication. A friend recently recounted the story of his family who lived on a remote farm in Northland in the early part of the last century. Back then the children took turns flicking on the light switch each evening, […]
EV Charging Infrastructure Research Outlines Issues
New research from Drive Electric shows the development of electric vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure has reached a pivotal point in New Zealand. The not-for-profit organisation’s white paper Charging Ahead: New Zealand’s EV Charging Infrastructure outlines current successes, challenges ahead, and where New Zealand sits on the international stage. Drive Electric board member Eric Pellicer says […]