Evie the electric car cruises through Hamilton

Electric vehicles filled Garden Place without smoke or a bang in the hopes of bringing to light a new era.

Hamilton welcomed the fourth annual BetterNZ Trust Leading The Charge Electric Vehicle Road Trip on Wednesday in Garden Place.

A small group of electric vehicles (EVs), including a few electric bikes, are charging their way from Bluff to Cape Reinga this month, stopping in various cities along the way to share their knowledge of EVs and showing Kiwis across the nation that driving an EV on long trips is not only doable, but is hugely cost effective and fun.

Mercury Energy environmental resources manager Mark Henry was helping people get to know the vehicles, including New Zealand’s famous Evie.

“It’s been fantastic to be here, there’s been a steady stream of people through to see some awesome cars. 

“We’re pretty excited to have Evie here as part of that. She’s a 1957 Ford Fairlane. We’ve given her an electric heart transplant, so removed all of the combustion engine and replaced it with a electric engine, which is actually an electric bus motor. 

“It’s a cool New Zealand innovation story that led to connecting the electronics through the transmission as well as, we think, a pretty cool demonstration of what an electric vehicle could be.

“She’s 60-years-old and we think we’ve given her another 60 years to live.

We are here to lend our support to the leading the charge initiative. They’re the advocacy group for electric vehicles as they do a tour from Bluff all the way up to Cape Reinga.” 

Mark said he was delighted to be part of the event in Hamilton and would be helping out at the event in Auckland as well. 

“For them the road trip is trying to encourage uptake and interest in electric cars. For us it’s about joining those dots up to try and talk about the renewable electricity advantages and how we should be looking for that opportunity to maximise the renewable electricity aspect as opposed to using fossil fuel.

“When you think about paying $2/L of fuel, give or take, and you do the equivalent of what it is for power …it’s about $0.30/L. There’s straight up economics, but then there are advantages of thinking about the negative effects of combustion engines the emissions that come from them. It’s shifting the conversation to look at how important the renewable electricity energy is here in New Zealand. 

“The bikes are another way to enjoy electricity in a wonderful way,” he said.

Hamilton based companies and organisations that have incorporated EVs into their own fleets or support the cause for sustainable alternative transport were showcased at the event.