The 'Electric Election': energy policies, side by side
Evnex has established itself in New Zealand, and it's starting to plug in to the Australian market. Founder and CEO Ed Harvey and commercial & technical account manager Tony Davis take us for a tour of the Christchurch office where they assemble and test their smart chargers.
Evnex founder Ed Harvey electrified a car for his final year of an electronics engineering degree at the University of Canterbury and, after graduating, he spent a few years working for a company that specialised in electric wheelchairs. He had been hunting for a more sophisticated and affordable charging solution for his own EV so in 2013 he started tinkering with some open source designs and Evnex was born a year later.
Since then, as Evnex's Tony Davis says, they've sold almost 10,000 chargers in New Zealand and Australia and its E2 model has gone from zero to almost 6,000 sales in just over two years.
While the EV sales growth rate has slowed in New Zealand after the removal of the Clean Car Discount, the trend over time is clear and EV sales are still on the up around the world. EVs are also very close to reaching price parity with fossil fuel cars and the lifetime running costs of EVs are significantly lower. Customers with rooftop solar - the cheapest form of electricity available to New Zealand households - can save even more.
For customers with solar, Evnex has developed a way to divert the electricity into the car as opposed to selling the excess back to the grid for a lower rate than you pay for it.
“People love it because if you are judicious about charging, you can have 90 percent plus of your driving come from your own solar,” Harvey told Kia Ora magazine.
While fast chargers are essential for longer trips with EVs and have helped reduce ‘range anxiety’, most trips are short and the average distance New Zealanders drive each week is around 200km. More than 80% of electric vehicle charging happens at home, and that’s where the ‘smart’ in smart charging comes in, with systems that can be automated to only charge during times of cheap, low-emissions electricity or reimburse employees for charging a company EV at home.
A range of businesses are now looking at upgrading their fleets to EVs because the economic benefits are clear but the charging infrastructure is a crucial part of that. Evnex is also the preferred charging partner of a number of established automotive brands.
The company is also experimenting with bidirectional charging, which is one of the most exciting developments in this space and will soon open up the field of vehicle-to-home and vehicle-to-grid.
'Twas the night before Chris-mas, and all through the house, all the voters were stirring, the pundits showing their nous … the election will soon be over, but the energy crisis won't, so we'll be there to pester whoever is in power about the need to run more of the economy on New Zealand-made energy; can Ethiopia's aggressive push for EVs work and how does New Zealand compare in terms of adoption rates?; a two-way charging trial from Genesis shows promise in Auckland, but there's still a way to go before it's mainstream; small electric vehicles are often overlooked when it comes to electrifying transport, but it's hard to miss this weird French one; a solar-powered cafe (and some electric coffee); and we endorse the political vandalism of Keith of All Trades.
Read moreDownloadPoliticians are being urged to adopt stronger electric vehicle incentives ahead of the election. Climate and energy advocacy group Rewiring Aotearoa is arguing that EVs are one of the most effective long-term solutions for rising transport and energy costs. They're promoting an EV Salary Boost proposal, which would allow workers to access EVs through pre-tax salary arrangements – similarly to already existing schemes in the UK and Australia. Policy and Government Relations Spokesperson Ngaio Neumegen told Kerre Woodham that even with the rising cost of power, it's still cheaper to run an EV than a car running on imported fuel.
A proposal that would let New Zealanders lease an electric car using their before-tax pay has not won a commitment from either National or Labour, with the 7 November election days away. Under the EV Salary Boost, put forward by Rewiring Aotearoa and Drive Electric, an employee would lease a new or used EV for three to five years. The payments would come out of their pay before tax, lowering the cost of running the car. The idea is based on Australia’s novated leasing system, though the groups say they are not proposing a direct copy.
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