The trusted voice of the industry
for more than 30 years

EVs to make up NZ government fleet

Posted on 13 August, 2017

National Party leader and Prime Minister, Bill English has announced one in three cars in the government's fleet will be electric by 2021. The government currently has 15,500 cars. "Electric vehicles purchased in the Government fleet will flow through to the second hand market, which is essential to increasing uptake and incentivising more charging stations," said Bridges. The Prime Minister said, during his announcement at a charging station outside the The Dowse Museum in Lower Hutt on Saturday, that there's no doubt electric cars are part of New Zealand's future, "which make a load of sense because we have an abundance of renewable energy." National's electric vehicle scheme will also include an exemption of road user charges on light and heavy class electric vehicles until each class make up two per cent of its vehicle fleet. The party also promises a $6 million annual contestable fund encouraging to encourage innovation for low emission vehicle projects. Changes to the Land Transport Act will also allow electric vehicles in bus lanes and high-occupancy lanes on the State Highway network. The Green Party has welcomed the Government’s recent announcement that one in three cars in its vehicle fleet will be electric by 2021, but in a statement, the party says it is still ‘low power.’ “While this is a good start, we need to charge up the ambition to ensure that New Zealand is keeping pace with the rest of the world,” said Green Party transport spokesperson Julie Anne Genter. “Aotearoa should be leading the world in electric vehicle adaptation. Instead, National’s lack of leadership has seen New Zealand going backwards, with Kiwirail regressing back to diesel trains and crown limos remaining diesel powered. “The Government can do more to make it easier for New Zealanders to buy and use electric vehicles and other clean transport solutions. The Green Party also has a policy to introduce financial incentives for business to switch to electric vehicles – not only will this facilitate business leadership, it will also create a second hand market for electric vehicles that will benefit households in just a few years. “We will also invest in fast charging stations across the country and investigate further incentives to enable households to access electric vehicles.