NZ’S NEWS SOURCE FOR ELECTRIC, INTELLIGENT AND AUTONOMOUS TRANSPORTATION VOLUME 2 | ISSUE 2 | OCTOBER 2017 EVs - the good, Winners the bad and snap up micro-EVs the battery ur two micro-EV winners have been found. O More than 600 entries ow secure is power supply for- ahead of demand,” says Mackenzie were received in the lucky draw at the EVs? who expects re- EVtalk stand during the first two-day H EVTalk duced EV prices, evworld New Zealand conference raised the ques- improved travel and show in Auckland last month. tion after Septem- range and in- Michael Short won the JackHot ber’s fuel pipeline creasing product electric scooter prize, kindly do- incident which choice will see nated by Henry Tan and the team at disrupted supplies uptake substan- Scoozzi, and Maurice Andrews won from Marsden tially exceed the the HaloCity e-bike. Point to Auckland. current 5000 on North shore based Short runs Vector is the our roads. about 8.5km to his work at Action national number Vector’s Simon Mackenzie. “It will have Manufacturing in Albany, currently one provider of a tangible impact producing a prototype EV camp- electricity. Its chief executive officer on electricity networks, including ervan, and Simon Mackenzie covered the supply our own. he’s using subject during his talk at the evworld “Many EV users plug in to charge the e-scoot- NZ conference in Auckland on Sep- around the same time after work, dur- er to get tember 8, just days before the pipeline ing times of peak demand. This means Michael Short is home on delighted with his problem began. that while they will help reduce one JackHot e-scooter prize. the days he We asked him to elaborate. of New Zealand’s largest sources of runs in. “Increased uptake of EVs globally greenhouse gas emissions, on current Wife Belinda drops the e-scooter presents both a massive challenge user behaviour trends EVs are set to add back in for him as she helps out at and limitless potential for utilities and strain to networks and create resilience the business too. The e-scooter is regulators,” he says. issues as more of the national fleet be- foldable and weighs just 7.3kg so “EVs are poised to become a signifi- come reliant on electricity supply.” it’s easy to load in the car boot. cant part of New Zealand’s transport Mackenzie says resilience is in- Of course, she likes to use it herself mix, as car makers gear up to stay Continued on page 20 in riding with their three children on their own bikes about 1.5km to school, INSIDE and back. The kids are keen to try it too Hop in a driverless shuttle 3 and the e-scooter has a speed safety French “ecolectric” NZ tour 5 feature especially for such a purpose. E-bikes and smart helmets 15 Short’s never had an e-scooter be- EVs at Big Boys Toys 21 3 5 fore and his first try around his work’s Continued on page 15 Drive your business forward with Call Steve Owens now on 021 947 752 NEWSTALK EVtalk acknowledges the support of our foundation sponsors: EVtalk Magazine is published by Auto Media Group 8/152 Quay Street, Limited. P.O. Box 10 50 10, Auckland City, 1030. Ph. 09 309 2444. EDITOR Geoff Dobson [email protected] 021 881 823 GROUP EDITOR AUTO TRADE TITLES Scott Morgan 021 240 2402 [email protected] BUSINESS MANAGER Rachel Hadfield 021 778 745 [email protected] Vehicle Inspection NZ PUBLISHER Vern Whitehead 021 831 153 [email protected] MANAGING EDITOR Richard Edwards 021 556 655 [email protected] OPERATIONS MANAGER Deborah Baxter 027 530 5016 [email protected] Auto Media Group Limited makes every endeavour to ensure information contained in this publication is accurate, however we are not liable for any losses or issues resulting from its use. Printed by: Alpine Printers. evtalk.co.nz evtalk.com.au autotalk.co.nz autotalk.com.au dieseltalk.co.nz dieseltalk.com.au wheeltalk.co.nz identicar.co.nz 2 | EVTALK OCTOBER 2017 | www.evtalk.co.nz NEWSTALK Ohmio sets the Electric future for vintage car future in motion fan t’s a race to the future for self- hop, skip and jump) versions - the Lift, hen not working on vehicles driving vehicles. Ride and cargo carrier the Move - are of the future, Stephen Mat- I Among the early leaders is Kiwi being designed. Wthews spends his spare time company HMI Technologies’ Ohmio The “brain” behind each autono- putting together those from the past. Automotion which will have a range of mous vehicle is based on printed circuit The vintage car enthusiast is HMI four autonomous electric prototypes boards (PCBs). These are not comput- Technologies’ global chief executive ready by early next year. ers, more embedded systems, so cannot and has an extensive background in be hacked as has been feared with some executive management and govern- overseas projects. In fact, any electronic ance in the motor and petroleum communication is one-way, from the industries, and in the service sector. shuttle to a monitoring station. Matthews was Motor Trade As- Much of the circuitry was adapted from sociation chief executive officer the type used in HMI’s electronic signs. for 15 years and was a director of Ohmio vehicles are distinguished Vehicle Testing New Zealand. He from most others of a similar nature in became chairman of Drive Electric’s that they have self-mapping and will predecessor, the Association for the Stephen Matthews in the golf cart prototype. draw upon artificial intelligence. Promotion of Electric Vehicles. He’s also a fellow and past deputy The name Ohmio derives from the chairman of the New Zealand Insti- Maori word “amio” meaning “travel tute of Management. round” and incorporates “hmi” with After travelling overseas for three “o” for the wheels either side. years, Matthews returned to join The name is clever and so is HMI in January. He’s moving from HMI’s work. Wellington to Auckland to be closer Founded by Mohammed Hikmet to the company’s Pakuranga Heights with brother Ahmed, HMI has been HMI quality assurance manager Matthew headquarters. specialising in intelligent transport sys- Breddy in the Ohmio Hop shuttle. He sees a big future for HMI tems for years from its Auckland base. Technologies’ Ohmio Automotion It’s provided many of the electronic That means once they have completed and the team is expanding with his motorway signs, journey times and a route, they can self-drive it repeatedly. brother Martin, who has an extensive flashing warning signs to motorway GPS, Lidar and cameras are used and transport background, also coming drivers in New Zealand and Australia. the vehicles are able to stop quickly on board. It launched Ohmio Automotion in when they detect any obstruction. HMI has about 70 people involved September, showcasing three driverless The Hop vehicles can take up to four in its factory in China, along with shuttles carrying passengers, including passengers at this stage and one ver- about 54 people in Australia, New schoolchildren, on a connected convoy sion will have a lower floor with ramps Zealand and the United Kingdom. circuit of the Christchurch Art Gallery. to accommodate wheelchairs and Matthews is responsible for the big A connected convoy is different people with mobility difficulties. task of overseeing all operations. from the “autonomous platooning” All are geared around level four au- It all started when Matthews com- becoming associated with driverless tonomy, meaning they will be designed pleted a commerce degree at the vehicles travelling in line. Platoon- to perform all safety-critical driving University of Otago. ing usually means the front vehicle functions and monitor roadway condi- His work experience includes (leader) does all the thinking in direct- tions for an entire trip. However, that’s Europa/BP, which he joined in 1978, ing the following ones (slaves) but in limited to the vehicle’s operational de- then oil exploration company Santos in Ohmio’s case each vehicle has inde- sign domain (ODD) so does not cover Australia. He later joined Petrocorp, the pendent capability and thinks for itself. every driving scenario. former state-owned enterprise bought It all started with a new golf cart HMI In autonomy, the levels range from by Fletcher Challenge, and became adapted to become the first prototype zero (basic with the driver control- Fletcher Energy general manager. in February. It was able to operate au- ling all) to five (fully autonomous with He then worked for himself for tonomously by May. vehicle performance equalling a human four years, setting up businesses, The fibreglass shells were made driver in every driving scenario). before joining the MTA. and now three Ohmio Hop (as in a Continued on page 22 EVTALK OCTOBER 2017 | www.evtalk.co.nz | 3 NEWSTALK Electric car-sharing charges into Auckland new transport alternative that about how easy to drive the car is and Its location at the Downtown car might ultimately help address how the Newmarket location suits park brings EV car-sharing into the CBD, A some of Auckland’s transport them,” Cityhop business development where more than 60,000 people live challenges is being offered by Mercury manager Ben Carter says. and around 65,000 work daily, including and Cityhop. Cityhop driver Brett Berquist, who 1500 current Cityhop members. The addition of electric vehicles to used the Leaf early in the trial, says he “This partnership between Mercury Cityhop’s car-sharing and Cityhop is about platform brings together testing innovative and two parts of the solution sustainable approaches to the problems caused to ease Auckland’s by too much city traffic transport challenges,” - clean electric-powered Mercury chief executive vehicles to reduce pol- Fraser Whineray says.