
"Electric isn't just for cars, it's for farms too. That's the message from the team behind a cherry orchard in Central Otago, which started swapping diesel for electric on their 6 hectare site and went fully electric in 2021. Now they've put their electric tractor to a real test, going for a hot lap around Highland Motorsport Park in Cromwell." Electric Cherries' Mike Casey and Euan White cross live on Breakfast to discuss the record attempts, the Monarch tractor and the broader ambitions (head to 2.10 to hear the interview). Looking forward to having Liam Lawson take it for a spin soon.
Read moreDownload the document hereCompared to most of our MPs, Scott Willis is a very early adopter. As the latest episode of our 'Political Power' series shows, the Green MP's home in Waitati has had solar panels on the roof since 2013 and he bought a Nissan Leaf in 2016. He runs a full suite of electric gardening gear - which can often be a powerful gateway drug after people see how well they perform - and recently upgraded to a BYD Atto3 with a 60kwH battery.
Read moreDownload“People come up and ask, ‘Are you bribing politicians?’ And my answer to that is, well, I’m bribing them all equally,” he said. Each box was worth close to $90. But Mike said the cherries were less about currying favour and more about opening a cross-party conversation on electrification. “I want it to not be a political hot potato, because I genuinely believe, no matter what side of politics you’re on, electrification is good for the country. From an energy sovereignty, an energy security, an economic and a climate perspective, everybody wins.”
Read moreDownloadAround 150,000 new vehicles are purchased every year in New Zealand and around 60% of them are bought by businesses. We reckon a lot more of them should be electric - both for the benefit of those companies but also to seed the second-hand market - and that could be on the cards now because one of the major barriers to fleet EV uptake has been removed.
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