Power play: Government bolsters green fleet, almost half of all ministerial cars now an EV

The new electric cars will mean that roughly 40 per cent of the 72-vehicle ministerial Crown fleet is either fully electric, or a plug-in hybrid electric vehicle.

The Government is promising to ditch diesel-powered ministerial cars and is immediately purchasing another six new electric SUVs for the fleet.

The new vehicles will mean that roughly 40 per cent of the 72-vehicle ministerial Crown fleet is either fully electric, or a plug-in hybrid electric vehicle.

That's up from 2 per cent when the current Government took over in 2017.

As well as the new six vehicles, the Government is promising to replace the remaining diesel-powered cars with a greener option over the next two years.

The cost of the new SUVs - as well as the replacements of the rest of the fleet - has not been released.

The move follows a surge in the number of Kiwis buying electric vehicles.

According to figures from the Ministry of Transport, there are now more than 18,000 EVs on New Zealand's roads.

One of them is driven by National leader Simon Bridges, who made the switch in 2016 when he was Transport Minister.

The number of electric vehicles in New Zealand has been increasing rapidly. In 2016, there were just 2380 EV cars on the road, compared with almost 6000 in 2017 and 11,000 in 2018.

The most popular EV is the Nissan Leaf and the majority of EVs are registered in Auckland, according to the data.

A new Leaf costs close to $60,000.

The Minister Responsible for Ministerial Services, Chris Hipkins, told the Herald that electric vehicles (EVs) offer potentially massive benefits to both the environment and the Government's back pocket.

"Low emission, environmentally sustainable, fit for purpose transport is an important priority for the Government," he said.

"We are playing a leadership role and intend to transition the full Crown car fleet to emissions-free vehicles by 2025/26."

Hipkins said that a transition over this period allows time for the electric market to grow.

It also would help ensure taxpayers get value for money.

The Government also planned to establish more EV infrastructure including, such charging stations, over the coming years.

"In the meantime, we expect the new electric-powered vehicles to be used for urban trips within the main centres," Hipkins said.

Earlier this year, the Government unveiled a feebate scheme to encourage people to buy greener vehicles.

The Government announced it would slash the price of imported electric and hybrid vehicles by up to $8000.

But it is also planning to slap a new fee of up to $3000 on the import of vehicles with the highest greenhouse gas emissions.

"Most Kiwis want to buy a car that's good for the environment, but tell us the upfront cost and limited choice makes it a challenge," Associate Transport Minister Julie Anne Genter said at the time.

But a cabinet paper looking into the scheme revealed a plan which would have put an extra up to $2000 in the back pocket of Kiwis buying electric cars was scrapped by the Government as it was considered to be "poor value for money".