2018 Final EV Tally
NZ EV Registrations: Just Shy of 12K mark
Figures released yesterday by the Ministry of Transport have final numbers of electric vehicles registered in NZ as of 2018 year-end at 11,748. This comfortably exceeds the Government's target of 8,000.
Continuing the trend, light electric far outweighs heavy EV. Interestingly though, BEV has more than double the number of registrations as PHEV on an increasing trend year on year.
Despite exceeding government targets by year end, some months during 2018 were somewhat of a struggle, resulting in seesaw figures. The "speed bump" during the earlier part of the year was caused largely by a halt on imports from Japan due to a biosecurity risk that had been rectified. A surge of new registrations in October has possibly been attributed to rising fuel costs, which dropped towards the year-end, resulting in a corresponding drop in EV sales. Another possible explanation could be a new biosecurity standoff, resulting in one shipload purportedly having been turned away from NZ ports.
Despite company fleets being critical for the uptake of EV in NZ, individual owners continue to lead the way, mainly due to Used Import sales. The "other" column includes entities such as government departments.
One interesting change at year-end compared to end of June, was a slight juggling of EVs per 1000 of population. Wellington switched places with Auckland to become the leader. Canterbury takes Nelson/Marlborough's 4th place spot sending their northern neighbours back one, while Otago and Northland retain 3rd and 6th spots respectively.
In actual numbers, Auckland has 5,211 registered EVs and Wellington Region is next highest at 1,672 followed closely by Canterbury on 1,662. West Coast remains at the rear with just 10 EV. It will be interesting to see if this lack of growth changes once ChargeNet installs the West Coast route of DC chargers (linking Greymouth to Wanaka) later in the year.
[Rachelle Tilsley - Better NZ Trust - 8 Jan 2019]
Image credits: Ministry of Transport