Air New Zealand chief executive officer Christopher Luxon says the fleet transition forms part of the airline's commitment to sustainability and carbon reduction across the business.
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"Taking a leadership position in carbon management and reducing our emissions is a significant goal for us under our Sustainability Framework. We recognise the opportunity electric vehicles present both for New Zealand and our airline and we are making the most of the country's renewable electricity supply by transitioning our ground fleet off fossil fuels where we're able to."
The Air New Zealand fleet purchase is a signifcant boost for the electric vehicle sector here. Just over 1000 plug-ins have been sold here.
Transport Minister Simon Bridges said he was "incredibly excited" about the opportunities they provide for New Zealand.
"It's clear that EVs are the future and it's great companies like Air New Zealand recognise this. The benefits of increasing uptake of EVs are far-reaching. They reduce our reliance on imported fossil fuels, reduce fuel cost and enhance the efficiency of our renewable electricity networks."
The airline will get the first of its new electric vehicles later this month and aims to complete the fleet transition by the end of the year.
In addition to the introduction of electric vehicles, the airline has begun installing charging points at its key car parking sites to support the new vehicles. This is in addition to the charge points already installed at a number of the airline's customer parking facilities.
The airline is also changing over its airport ground service equipment to electric including golf carts and tractors. Where electric options don't currently exist the airline is working with Z Energy to purchase bio-diesel from its site under development in Wiri.
