History and Timeline

Drive Electric is committed to a cleaner transport future for New Zealand. Explore our landmark moments so far.
2011
Association for the Promotion of Electric Vehicles (APEV) Established

Established and seed funded by the Fukutake family.

2011
< 20 Vehicles registered in NZ
2014
May
Ministerial Roundtable
APEV hosts a Ministerial Roundtable with industry-wide participation. This begins our dialogue with Government regarding their first electric vehicle stimulus package, to be launched in 2016.
 
June
New Chairman appointed

APEV rebrands to Drive Electric and appoints automotive industry veteran Mark Gilbert as Chairman.

Connect with Mark

September
PlugIn Fleet Day

Drive Electric hosts a PlugIn Fleet Day, which attracts large amounts of corporate interest and participation.

2015
March
Scoping study for ‘Renewables Highway’

Assistance in the preparation of a ‘Renewable Highway’ scoping study for members, Mighty River Power, Contact Energy and ENA Lines companies.

December
EVolocity

Drive Electric develops and sells EVolocity, an educational project to drive Kiwi innovation for electric vehicles via the tertiary sector.

Visit the Website

2016
August
National Governments

EV stimulus package announced

August
Electric vehicles programme

NZ Government announces the Electric Vehicles Programme, the first set of policies aimed at increasing EV uptake.

View Programme

2017
April
Drive Electric Whitepaper Launch

Charging ahead: New Zealand’s EV commercial charging infrastructure.

May
Drive Electric Whitepaper Launch

Peak pressure: what challenges do electric vehicles pose to New Zealand’s electricity grid?

September
5000 EV's registered in New Zealand
September
Drive Electric Whitepaper Launch

Autonomous Vehicles: The road to a Driverless Future.

October
Five Key Priorities

Drive Electric presents ‘Five Key Priorities’ to the Labour Government, encouraging EV policy innovations and investment in charging infrastructure.

Read the Five Key Priorities

December
6000 EV's registered in New Zealand
2018
January
7000 EV's registered in New Zealand
February
8000 EV's registered in New Zealand
February
Drive Electric Whitepaper Launch

Drive Electric releases White Paper to provide a ‘how to’ guide for businesses transitioning their fleet to EVs.

May
Contributed Public Submissions

To The Productivity Commission, MfE and MoT with an expert cross-industry EV lens. Drive Electric works closely with partner organisations such as EECA – who have, to date, co-funded 48 projects and committed over $10m as part of their Contestable Fund.

August
9000 EV's registered in New Zealand
September
10,000 EV's registered in New Zealand
November
11,000 EV's registered in New Zealand
December
DE Brings Christina Bu to NZ

To speak at 10 events across the country with support from Meridian Energy and EECA. The tour includes member events, influencers breakfasts, Ministerial engagements and attracts significant media coverage.

2019
February
12,000 EV's registered in New Zealand
April
13,000 EV's registered in New Zealand
May
Drive Electric Summary Paper Launch

Reporting Back: New Zealand Insights from the 2019 Nordic EV Summit.

June
14,000 EV's registered in New Zealand
July
ICCC Report

Recommends two-thirds of NZ fleet needs electrifying to meet target commitments.

July
15,000 EV's registered in New Zealand
July
Incentives

Government makes their first announcement of incentives that will eventually become the Clean Car Standard and Clean Car Discount.

August
Clean Car Standard & Clean Car Discount Policies

Submissions made by Drive Electric on the Clean Car Standard and Clean Car Discount policies.

October
17,000 EV's registered in New Zealand
2020
March
Drive Electric whitepaper launch

Making the move: how some of New Zealand’s leading organisations have gone electric.

March
20,000 EV's registered in New Zealand
2021
February
25,000 EV's registered in New Zealand
July
Clean Car Discount

Clean Car Discount officially launched. Various rebates become available to purchasers of BEVs and PHEVs. Drive Electric Chair Mark Gilbert joins the Clean Car Sector Leadership Group established by this new policy.

August
30,000 EV's registered in New Zealand
November
Developing a Short Term Roadmap for the Public Electric Vehicle Charging Network

Submission made on the EECA Consultation Document ‘Developing a Short Term Roadmap for the Public Electric Vehicle Charging Network’.

November
Emissions Reduction Plan

Submission made on the Emissions Reduction Plan Discussion Document.

November
Clean Car Amendment Bill

Submission made on the Land Transport (Clean Car) Amendment Bill

November
35,000 EV's registered in New Zealand
2022
March
40,000 EV's registered in New Zealand
31st March
New Drive Electric Website Launch

Webinar launch of the new Drive Electric website platform, with keynote speakers Hon. Michael Wood, Minister of Transport, and Andrew Casseley, CEO of EECA. The site is built to be a more fulsome resource for all things electric transport in New Zealand.

1st April
Clean Car Discount Launches

Full Clean Car Discount launches, with more rebates available for new low emission vehicle registrations and a fee schedule for higher emission vehicles.

May
45,000 EV's registered in New Zealand