Drive EV owner-operator Steve Greenwood says there has been a surge in electric vehicle sales with many customers highlighting petrol prices as a deciding factor. Photo / David Beck
Drive EV owner-operator Steve Greenwood says there has been a surge in electric vehicle sales with many customers highlighting petrol prices as a deciding factor. Photo / David Beck
Despite a three-month fuel tax decrease, drivers are flocking to electric vehicle (EV) dealers in an attempt to avoid future pain at the pump.
Taupō's Drive EV owner-operator Steve Greenwood says by mid-March he had sold twice as many EVs as he usually would in an entire month.
"It's beenridiculous, basically every time we pick up the phone we're selling a car, it's just crazy," he says.
"We've basically sold everything we have on the yard, we're buying cars yesterday and selling them today."
Steve says the reduction in petrol prices recently does not seem to have slowed down demand for EVs.
"In the last seven days, we've seen a real boom. I've been selling electric cars for about seven years now and we've seen some peaks. They often do relate to things in the environment or fuel prices, but we've never seen anything like this before.
"I think all the people thinking about going electric in the near future have bumped it up to right now because petrol is so expensive. You also generally see, with sales, when lots of people are buying things and others are missing out it drives up the urgency and people think 'oh, I need to get something right now'."
The bulk of vehicles sold at Drive EV are Nissan Leafs. Steve says during his time in the industry, there have not been groundbreaking changes in the battery designs, but an increase in energy density has improved the range, meaning the vehicles can drive further on a single charge.
"A 2011 Leaf, when it was brand new, did 120km, the latest Leaf does 350-400km. We find that 300km of real-world range is basically just like driving a petrol car."
Meanwhile, at a national level, Hyundai New Zealand says petrol price turmoil has doubled the number of Kiwis buying its electric IONIQ 5 and quadrupled the number of New Zealanders interested in buying electric vehicles.
Hyundai New Zealand says petrol price turmoil has doubled the number of Kiwis buying its electric IONIQ 5. Photo / Supplied
Hyundai New Zealand general manager Chris Blair says deposits on the IONIQ 5 doubled last week. Visits to the company website to review electric vehicle options have increased by four times (440.5 per cent) compared with the same week in 2021.
"Orders and inquiries for electric vehicles are as strong as when the Government announced its clean car rebate last year.
"Anecdotal feedback from customers ordering cars and asking our dealerships about EV options is that this is a direct response to the increase in petrol prices and global supply uncertainty."
While the Government announced a three-month fuel tax decrease to temporarily alleviate the impact of fuel pump increases, this has not yet lowered orders and interest in EVs.
"Customers are telling us that they're looking at the long-term trend – they want a vehicle which will overcome future changes to petrol price and supply.
"We know that many Kiwis have already thought about EVs as their next car purchase – so the current crisis has been a catalyst to bring forward that purchase decision or plan."
When asked how the up rise of electric vehicles is affecting the petrol industry, Gull general manager Dave Bodger says it has been a sunset industry for many years.
"It's about when the sun goes down," he says.
"Every vehicle people have bought, generally if you stay on the same number of cylinders, it's more energy-efficient than the one before. EVs are part of that revolution in that you actually go from something to nothing.
"Currently the EVs are subsidised for the cost of operation, they're not paying a road-user charge which makes them very appealing to buy. However, longer-term, they have to come down a heck of a lot in price to be obtainable by the average and lower socio-economic Kiwi.
"You also have a supply issue with the number and types of EV that can actually come into New Zealand. Worldwide, there are not a lot of EVs that are made to be right hand drive."
Dave says EVs have been "nibbling away" at fuel sales for a long time.
"They're great to drive, fantastic technology and they will definitely be part of the future mix. The Government have actually said there's no decrease in petrol demand in New Zealand foreseen probably through to about 2030.
"As people arrive in the country they tend to buy a vehicle and that still tends to be an internal combustion engine."
