New Zealand’s first networked charging centre for electric cars opened in Taupo yesterday but nobody will be using it.
Not until July anyway, when the first shipment of electric vehicles drive into the New Zealand market.
The electric vehicle (EV) charging centre was launched by Australian company ChargePoint in partnership with the New Zealand Clean Energy Centre.
ChargePoint CEO James Brown said that 2012 would be the “dawn of the EV” in New Zealand.
“I think there’s a very bright future. It is actually very well suited to New Zealand,” he said.
“Every journey starts with one step. We thought that this was one great step to take.”
He said the charging station functions like a petrol station. Users plug their electric vehicle into a power source and charge their batteries, just like filling a tank of gas. But waiting time could be considerably longer, up to four hours to charge from empty to full in some cases.
However, Mr Brown said that once charging stations were installed in businesses and car parks, people would charge their vehicle while at work or when out shopping.
The Mitsubishi i-MiEV, the first electric car to go on sale in New Zealand, will go on sale here in July with a $60,000 price tag.
New Zealand is the third country in the world, behind Japan and the United States, to get them.
Mr Brown said to fully charging an i-MiEV at the station would cost $3 and the charge would take the car 100km. Using a petrol engine to travel the same distance would cost between $15 and $18.
NZ Clean Energy Centre chief executive Rob McEwen said it was important for New Zealand to be at the forefront of clean energy innovation.
“Our mission is to accelerate the adoption of clean energy solutions in New Zealand.”
He said the prominent location of the charging centre on the State Highway 1 Taupo bypass would help educate the public on this alternative energy solution.
