VOLUME 1 | ISSUE 8 | APRIL 2017 Airline’s fleet New report move sets show EV batteries are electric pace long-lasting ir New Zealand’s commitment to Christopher Luxon says the fleet transi- ew research commissioned using electric vehicles (EVs) as tion is part of the airline’s commitment by the Energy Efficiency Apart of its ground fleet continues to sustainabil- Nand Conservation Authority to grow. ity and carbon (EECA) shows electric vehicle (EV) The company has gone one better on reduction across batteries are reliable and long- its promise to replace 75 of its ground the business. lasting. fleet vehicles with EVs. It now has 76. “We recog- The report by Verdant Vision, an It announced the plan in March 2016. nise the oppor- Australia-based electric vehicle “As an early adopter of EVs, we had tunity electric consultancy, is part of the Govern- to do extensive research on the options vehicles present ment’s EV information campaign. available and talk to numerous potential Christopher Luxon both for New The report reveals that many partners to ensure we got the vehicles Zealand and our manufacturers are so confident to best fit the needs of our business,” an airline and we are making the most of in their new car batteries they Air New Zealand spokeswoman says. the country’s renewable electricity sup- guarantee 75% to 80% of original Its EV fleet includes 36 BMWi3 ve- ply by transitioning our ground fleet off battery capacity – normally over hicles for the sales team, 12 Mitsubishi fossil fuels where we’re able to.” a five-year period, with one even Outlander Plug-in Hybrids for longer As a result of increasing its own stretching to ten years. range trips and 28 Renault Kangoo elec- fleet, the airline has had to construct a It also looks at several studies tric vans for use on and around airports. series of charging networks through- that show batteries don’t degrade Air New Zealand chief executive out the country. particularly quickly. Continued on page 4 One study that focused on the Tesla Model S showed only 5% bat- tery degradation after 100,000km. And another study by Idaho National Laboratory showed the hot climate in the testing location of Phoenix, Arizona caused more degradation in Nissan Leaf batteries than fast-charging and slow charg- ing options. In terms of battery replacement, it can stretch into the thousands, Continued on page 3 Talk to us about our electric and hybrid vehicle safety check Vehicle Inspection NZ 0800 GO VINZ VINZ.CO.NZ 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. GROUP EDITOR AUTO TRADE TITLES Scott Morgan 021 240 2402 [email protected] Vehicle Inspection NZ BUSINESS MANAGER Rachel Hadfield 021 778 745 [email protected] 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 autotalk.co.nz dieseltalk.co.nz autotalk.com.au carandsuv.co.nz CAR & SUV identicar.co.nz 2 | EVTALK APRIL 2017 | www.evtalk.co.nz NEWSTALK Leading the Charge hits the road road trip that will see electric and arrives in Wellington vehicles traversing the length of on April 27. A New Zealand is about to get on It starts again on May 1 the move again. and finishes in Cape Re- Leading the Charge is organised by inga about May 10. the Better NZ Trust to help promote The trust says the the uptake of EVs and introduce peo- road trip reflects the ple to the technology. rapid growth in EVs and The event has come a long way charging infrastructure from its first year when just two Teslas throughout New Zea- completed the drive with little planning. land, with a wide range This year vehicles doing the whole of vehicles that weren’t trip include five Teslas, two BMW i3s, around even six months two Hyundai Ioniqs, one PHEV Out- ago taking part. lander, one PHEV Audi and a Nissan It is also working with Leaf. Many more are likely to join for the Energy and Efficiency different legs along the way. Conservation Authority Two planned routes will see the to manage and promote cars drive eastern and western sides of events like International both the North and South Islands, with Drive Electric Week after some overlap. the success of Leading The drive starts in Bluff on April 19 the Charge. The Leading the Charge route. New report show EV batteries are long-lasting Continued from page 1 it, will give owners valuable informa- with an estimated $7700 plus fitting tion about their vehicle’s battery and is cost for a Nissan Leaf 24 kWh battery a useful resource for people consider- all the way up to $35,000 for a Tesla ing buying an electric vehicle, EECA Model S 85kWh. transport general manager Elizabeth A case study in the report shows Yeaman says. a cost of ownership comparison be- “Electric vehicle batteries are an im- tween a Nissan Leaf and Nissan Pulsar. pressive technology and not everyone If the Leaf needs its battery re- realises how long-lived and reliable placed, the total cost of ownership they are,” she says. after seven years is $28,913 – still “This report will help owners look less than the cost of the Pulsar which after their batteries to get the most racked up a figure of $29,338. out of them. It will also help inform Advice for making an EV battery people considering purchasing an last includes minimise the use of fast electric vehicle.” charging, don’t recharge to To read the full report go to www. full every day unless you need to, energywise.govt.nz/ev and click on always try to park in the shade, the electric vehicle battery life link in rather than in full sun and during the menu. extreme hot or cold weather, park For general information about in a sheltered garage. electric vehicles, see www.electricve- Elizabeth Yeaman The research, and a guide based on hicles.govt.nz EVTALK APRIL 2017 | www.evtalk.co.nz | 3 NEWSTALK Electric vehicle challenge sparks response bid to break the New Renault Zoes, Kia Souls and Leaf to tow his bees and or so EV gathering. Zealand record for the Tesla Model S cars,” he says. tend his hives - truly zero About three months later, A most electric vehicles Three Domino Pizza elec- emissions honey.” in August 2015, Whangarei in one place could go down tric delivery Some kiwi- organised and tried to claim to the wire. scooters fruit growers the title with more than 30 More than 25 EV owners will add to are bringing cars. Then Auckland rallied have responded to the New a strong an EV van, 59 cars at MOTAT, about 15 Zealand EV Challenge call to electric bike while two of them from Whangarei. assemble at Hatea Drive car community other farmers Christchurch hopes to park in Whangarei on April showing. who sell their take the record back on 15 at 10.30am. “We have organic fruit April 22 when the Leading That’s barely half of great sup- and vegetables the Charge road trip what’s needed to beat the port from at the Whanga- stops there. 59 EVs assembled at Auck- our local rei Growers’ Whangarei gets the short land’s Museum of Transport electric lines Joe Camuso Market using end of the road trip stick, and Technology (MOTAT) company their Leafs are Camuso says. last September. Northpower,” Camuso says. also expected. “All the main cities - But one of the Northland He’s hoping for good Camuso says the chal- Christchurch, Wellington event organisers, Joseph Easter Saturday weather lenge started as friendly and Auckland - have week- Camuso, expects many more and is expecting some in- rivalry about two years end stops. Whangarei is will show up on the day. teresting appearances. ago, with Christchurch scheduled for May 9 so no “Most will be Nissan Leafs “We have a local bee taunting other New Zea- chance for us to try to break but we are also expecting keeper that uses his Nissan land groups to beat their 37 a record on a weekday.” Airline’s fleet move sets electric pace Continued from page 1 the company joined forces “We wanted to get the critical mass of demand “We have been progres- with Mercury and Westpac business community necessary to really launch sively installing charging to launch an initiative that together to lead the way the market in New Zea- points at our key internal will attempt to increase the on EVs and create the land,” Luxon says. parking sites to support our number of EVs EV vehicles,” the spokes- in New Zea- woman says. land by 75% “This is in addition to within three the charge points already years. installed in a number of our More than customer parking facilities.” 30 leading Staff reaction been to the businesses gradual introduction of EVs have com- has been positive, she says. mitted to the “Staff at Air New Zealand transition have welcomed our transi- which will tion to EVs and are realising see at least the benefits the vehicles 30% of their bring both environmentally vehicle fleets and economically too.” converted to Following on from Air plug-in elec- New Zealand’s announce- tric vehicles ment about its own fleet, by 2019.