The Canopy Bridge in Whangarei forms a backdrop to the longest lineup of electric vehicles in New Zealand. Photo/Supplied
The Canopy Bridge in Whangarei forms a backdrop to the longest lineup of electric vehicles in New Zealand. Photo/Supplied
The suspense was electric but, when the 60th electric vehicle (EV) silently rolled into the Hatea Drive car park in Whangarei, organisers of a NZ record bid knew they had it in the bag.
Two more turned up, for a total of 62 EVs in one place, enabling Whangarei toreclaim a record it first held in August 2015.
Back then, at Northpower's headquarters in Raumunga, 31 fully electric and hybrid plug-ins smashed the record set by archrivals Christchurch in a lighthearted contest for EV bragging rights. Auckland stepped up in September last year, during National Drive Electric Week, with 59 EVs parking at Motat - and Northland EV buffs, or EVangelists, have been plotting their rEVenge since.
Northland's Rev-up (Regional EV Utility Project) organised the record attempt as part of the Whangarei Festival of Motorsports - but tensions were running high until EV No60 pulled up.
Rev-up member Joe Camuso was delighted by the strong response from Northland EV owners but "we always knew it would be a big ask".
"We were aware a lot of EV owners had alternate plans for Easter weekend and, with the Leading the Charge NZ Road Trip from Bluff to Cape Reinga starting today, we also knew we had to act fast to reclaim the title."
Mr Camuso admits the record is likely to be fleeting, as the Road Trip, which is coming to Whangarei on May 9, is likely to attract record attempts from the big cities such as Christchurch, Wellington and Auckland.
The event also doubled as a chance to start compiling a register of Northland EVs. Rev-up is urging those EV owners who couldn't make the record attempt to email their details, including registration number, to admin@revup.net.nz or post to the Northland EV Group Facebook page.
