How electric vehicles are driving the future

If you’ve hit the road lately, no doubt you’ll have noticed the uptake of electric and hybrid vehicles. With around 20% of New Zealand’s carbon emissions coming from transport, these vehicles are a great way to contribute to the necessary carbon reductions our country needs to make.

At NZI (and as part of a wider IAG initiative) we’re continuing our own work to reduce our carbon emissions and offset those that we can’t avoid by transitioning our entire fleet of about 250 cars to electric and hybrid vehicles over the next few years.

Making the switch to an Electric Vehicle (EV) can be a big change for people, particularly as it also requires the right battery charging infrastructure. That’s why last year we had six lucky NZI ‘early adopters’ pick up their personally assigned EV, to learn more about these vehicles and provide us with feedback before we rolled them out to the rest of our fleet.  

I caught up with our early adopters to hear how their experience has been in the hopes that what they’ve discovered might be useful for those who are looking at making the switch. We also take a look at the trends we’re seeing in the commercial motor sector and include some tips and guidance for those businesses that are considering going electric. 

NZI’s EV journey

Our Early Adopters are based in Auckland, Christchurch, and Wellington, and picked up their vehicles in September last year. Half were given home charging infrastructure, while the other half tested out charging using public charging facilities (free and paid) and work chargers at our IAG sites. It’s worth mentioning that those home chargers are compliant with WorkSafe guidelines – which is key to helping reduce potential risks.

There’s been great feedback so far, with charging at home proving a breeze as the car dashboard lets you know where the car is up to in the charging process. Even though public charging took a bit of time for our early adopters to get their heads around as to where the EV charging stations are located and how to get the best out of them, it’s working well.

What the early data is telling us

• Early data is showing that our drivers have managed to reduce their carbon emissions by over 80%, which is fantastic to see.
• The EVs are also costing far less to run, and also have fewer moving parts, meaning fewer repairs and lower servicing costs. Even after the drivers are reimbursed for the power it takes to charge at home, and the cost of any public charging, it’s significantly more economical than running a car on fuel.
• Early adopters have noticed that planning is key, particularly if the driver is travelling long distances, however the Plugshare app has proven quite beneficial.

Jess Rodger, NZI’s Sustainability Manager, who is running the programme, told me that “it’s great to see such positive feedback coming through. We know EVs - and especially the charging required - can be a big change, but our people are embracing it.”