What is an electric car?
An electric vehicle is an automobile that is propelled by one or more electric motors. These motors are powered by using energy stored in rechargeable batteries. Electric cars use a large traction battery pack to power the electric motor. To charge the electric car it will have to be plugged into a charging station or a wall outlet.
Electric powered cars are becoming more and more popular in New Zealand. By 2035, the average New Zealand family is expected to own one electric vehicle as prices fall. However the popularity for these cars aren’t just in New Zealand. An organization Hydrogen Council estimates that by 2050 electric vehicles will account for at least 20% of the world’s vehicles; 400 million cars, 20 million trucks and 5 million buses.
Electric cars in New Zealand
The push for more electric cars in New Zealand is to help offset the country’s carbon emissions. Switching fossil fueled cars over to electric alternatives could reduce New Zealand’s carbon dioxide emissions by 15.1 million tonnes a year.
New Zealand’s range of electric cars are increasing as they become more popular. The vehicles can range in price anywhere from $9,000 to $149,000, making electric powered cars accessible to a lot of New Zealanders.
What electric cars are available in New Zealand?
- Hyundai
Nissan- BMW
- Tesla
- VW -e Golf
- Renault
- Kia
- Mitsubishi
- Jaguar
- Audi
- Mercedes Benz
- Holden
- Toyota
- Volvo
Nissan
Expense of running an electric car
To buy an electric car that can do greater than 200km range is more expensive than to buy a petrol or diesel fuel car. However travelling by electric cars can be about 7 times cheaper to drive than petrol, with it costing you on average about 30 cents a litre (equivalent). With battery prices falling rapidly and it being cheaper to run, an electric car can save you a few thousand dollars a year. This would quickly pay off the higher car purchase price.
The price of recharging an electric car can vary. Recharging can often be free if a business or council is paying, a low cost charging the car at home and a high cost at fast-charging stations.
For example: if you commute 40km a day, you would probably need about 8 units of electricity (kWh) to recharge. At a low overnight rate of 11c per kWh this is $0.88 a day.
Electric vehicle charging stations
Most electric car owners do a large part of their charging at home overnight. Some New Zealand workplaces are providing charging stations to staff, and most shopping malls and supermarkets even have charging stations now. New Zealand currently has over 100 public fast charging stations that are installed by charge.net.nz every 50-100km along popular state highways and in cities. With the popularity of electric cars rising more and more businesses are getting their own charging stations installed. This is becoming more common in hotels, motels, campgrounds, electricity companies and councils.
How to find charging stations?
Use plugshare.com or charge.net.nz (the green icons are up and running charging stations and the orange icons are charging stations running under construction).
Repairs and Servicing Electric Cars
If you’re after any repairs or servicing needs on your electric car than Grimmer Motors has you covered. Our expert mechanics can quickly find what is causing this problem and provide honest and expert advice.
For electric car repairs and servicing in Hamilton, contact Grimmer Motors today!