Kiwis are rushing to get an EV before the Clean Car rebait is scrapped on December 31st.
Video / Ben Dickens
Focus Reporter / Chereè Kinnear
The days of the Remuera tractor – or the traditional four-wheel drive – may be coming to an end as data reveals the wealthy Auckland suburb is home to the most electric vehicles in the country.
As electric vehicle (EV) ownership grows, the Herald has mapped data fromthe Ministry of Transport to show the geographic distribution of privately owned electric light passenger vehicles.
The EV hotspots appear to be Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch. In Remuera, the top suburb for ownership, there are almost 700 EVs, followed by Flat Bush (524), Rolleston in Christchurch (518), Henderson (506), Mt Eden (453), Epsom (359) and Titirangi (338).
The Ministry of Transport data used by the Herald includes more than 48,000 privately owned, purely electric vehicles. Hybrids are not included in the data, which is based on where a vehicle is registered with the ministry.
More than 100,000 rebates have been paid since the scheme started, including a $8625 subsidy to Christopher Luxon’s wife Amanda for the purchase of a Tesla. Luxon was heckled by Labour MPs this week to repay the subsidy.
As electric vehicles become cheaper and more popular, electricity providers need to know where they are so they can plan accordingly. Vector, the largest electricity and gas provider, is also tracking the location of EVs and has created its own internal map.
Vector chief executive Simon Mackenzie says EVs can add a lot of load to areas and knowing where they are means Vector can adapt the network appropriately.
“By knowing where they are … we can match that against the load or the amount of energy being used in the suburb. Then we can make sure that we can put in place the necessary investments or systems to be able to ensure customers can still charge their vehicles.”
Vector had a “critical responsibility” to ensure any upgrades to the network to meet EV demand were equitable.
“It’s a massive issue. As you can see from the map, there are some suburbs where there are a lot of EVs and, if that needs to be upgraded, then people in that area, the costs should be worn by them, as opposed to people in other areas where there are virtually no [EVs].”
EV owner: ‘Severe reduction in running costs’
Hobsonville Point resident Craig Shearer describes himself as an “EV enthusiast”. Keen to reduce his carbon footprint, he switched from two petrol vehicles, used by him and his wife, to one electric vehicle, a Nissan Leaf, in 2017.
“I think for the three and a half years we had our Nissan Leaf, it cost us $1000 in electricity. That completely replaced what we would have been spending on petrol. That probably saved us … $5000 on petrol over those three years.”
In 2021, the couple upgraded to a Tesla, which had a bigger battery and meant they did not need to stop as often on long trips to charge the battery as they did with their Leaf.
Craig and Susan Shearer collect their new Tesla electric car from the showroom in central Auckland in February 2021.
Thinking about the future, Shearer says one concern is whether the charging infrastructure will keep pace with EV adoption.
“Back in the early days, there weren’t that many chargers around, but at least you knew that when you got to a charger, you’re unlikely to be waiting in a long queue for it. Whereas, these days, because EVs are a lot more popular … you might have to queue for a while to get your car charged.”
Shearer believes it will take at least a decade before most people own an EV as the existing car fleet is replaced and manufacturing is scaled up, so the cost of an EV is reduced.
“They are still quite a lot more expensive than a petrol car. I guess the thing with EVs, we’re definitely at sort of the start of the innovation curve. I can imagine that in 10 years there’ll be a ton more innovation ... and higher capacity batteries that don’t require as much resource to create.”
Julia Gabel is an Auckland-based journalist who largely covers data stories. She joined the Herald in 2020.
