Electric revolution kicks off

EV SALES UP 98 PER CENT

arrived in late 2016 and has become the second biggest selling full- electric model, followed by the Tesla Model X SUV ( 44 units).

The Model X has been available since February. BMW’s i3 accounted for the final 24 registrations.

As well as fully electric vehicles, plug- in and hybrid registrations are also on track to surpass 2016 registrations.

Registrations for plug- in petrol vehicle s totalled 198 units in the first half of 2017; a 19 per cent increase on the same period last year ( 161 units) and on track to better the 325 total registrations in 2016.

The Mitsubishi Outlander SUV ( 131 units) is clearly New Zealand’s favourite plug- in model, holding a 66 per cent share of the segment, followed by the Audi A3 ( 12 units) and BMW2 Series ( 10 units).

Petrol- hybrid registrations of The Tesla P100D, photographed in Auckland. Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV. 742 units in the first half of 2017 represented a 20 per cent ( 150 units) increase over the same period last year, and again look on track to pass total 2016 registrations of 1365 units.

Toyota is the market leader in the petrol- hybrid market with the Camry ( 228 units), Corolla ( 216 units) and Prius range ( 128 units) accounting for 77 per cent of the segment.

In March, Transport Minister Simon Bridges said more than 3000 electric vehicles were now registered in New Zealand, a stepping stone on the way to the Government’s 2016 target of doubling electric vehicle registrations each year to reach 64,000 by 2021.

With most major manufacturers’ plans to release more electric vehicles, and incentives for electric Kiwi buyers up until 2021 — like being exempt from paying road user charges — New Zealand is well on track to meet the targets.

Though the numbers of EVs and hybrids are increasing quickly, there were more than 146,000 new vehicles registered in New Zealand last year.