Beehive push needed for electric boost
Progress has been made on increasing the country’s electric vehicle (EV) fleet over the past five years, but Drive Electric wants the government to more clearly signal its intentions.
Mark Gilbert, chairman of the advocacy group, says looking back on a five-year vision and plan it set for itself and the industry in 2014, they have largely been achieved by 2018.
He says: “EV infrastructure is now visible across New Zealand, corporates are more inclined to include EVs in their fleets, there is a larger variety of EVs on the market with more to come, and there are almost 12,000 EVs on our roads.”
However, Gilbert says the government needs to offer some indication about how it plans to assist with bringing more EVs into the country’s fleet.
“Some of the benefits of more EVs on the road include reducing emissions, improving air quality and saving a lot of funds going overseas into crude oil. These are all things that have material outcomes. The question is where do we go from here.”
Gilbert believes that – at the moment – there’s little hope of reaching the current goal of 64,000 EVs by 2021set by the previous government. “At almost 12,000 EVs on the road, there’s no chance of getting to 64,000 without additional political will. We’ve got to get clear insights of what policy incentives are going to be and when they will be applied.”
Gilbert hopes the government is considering Drive Electric’s Project Switch proposal that would offer companies fringe-benefit tax relief on new EVs for a period to accelerate electric uptake in corporate fleets. “Project Switch is a no-brainer because it’s an opportunity cost, not a loss of money, and it doesn’t have to be open-ended.”
He says 2019 will continue to see Drive Electric lobby for better EV uptake in New Zealand. “We have influenced policies to push uptake. We and our members are involved in all aspects of the EV industry.
“We have arms that go into all different areas – energy, cars, mobility as a service, intelligent transport, financial services, fleets and charging infrastructure. We’re an organisation that represents all converging sectors.”
Included in that work is Drive Electric’s white-paper programme, which will put a focus on several areas, including heavy transport. Visit www.driveelectric.org.nz/whitepapers to find out more.
