Retirement village plots EV ban

An Auckland retirement village and some of its residents are at loggerheads after plans to ban electric cars were announced.

Fairview Lifestyle Village, pictured, in Albany says its policy for “EV safety” is based on concerns about the risk an EV fire would pose to the gated community’s 300 residents.

It proposes stopping any new residents from bringing electric cars to the property because it is unclear who is legally responsible for managing such a risk in residential care settings, reports Radio New Zealand.

The policy is in mediation as nearly 50 residents at the village have challenged the plans, with one of them labelling the move “silly” and “unreasonable”.

One resident, who did not want to be named, says he and others attended a meeting where management discussed the supposed fire risk EVs posed, reports the NZ Herald.

“They felt that electric vehicles – the whole set-up, vehicles, the chargers, the equipment associated with it – were hazardous in the extreme and would burn buildings down,” the resident told the NZ Herald.

He also questioned how realistic it was to try to introduce such a policy, which was first touted in about March this year, as more EVs enter the market.