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ABOUT DRIVE ELECTRIC

Drive Electric champions electric vehicle uptake and the decarbonisation of New Zealand’s transport sector.

DRIVING A BETTER TRANSPORT FUTURE FOR ALL NEW ZEALANDERS

As a not-for-profit organisation, we engage with government, media, industry and individuals to continually promote the benefits of making e-mobility mainstream and encourage accelerated electric vehicle uptake across the country.

Our board, member network and research partners are at the forefront of the electric vehicle movement. We are proud to instigate change and impart expertise in the key conversations bringing New Zealand closer to a fully electric future.

WHAT WE DO

A community of change-makers

Our members are a collective of businesses and individuals at the forefront of the electric vehicle movement. Together, we instigate change and impart expertise in the key conversations bringing New Zealand closer to a fully electric future.

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OVER A DECADE OF IMPACT

Drive Electric New Zealand (formerly the ‘Association for the Promotion of Electric Vehicles’ – APEV) was founded by the Fukutake family in 2011. The founding members had incredible foresight for the future of transport; at the time, there were less than twenty electric vehicles in New Zealand. Today, our national EV fleet is almost 40,000 strong.

Constantly working towards a better, cleaner transport future

We exist to help accelerate electric vehicle uptake in New Zealand. While our initial focus was on electric light passenger vehicles (cars), our remit now extends across all aspects of transport from individual and public mobility to heavy transport and trade vehicles. So, over the past decade we have recruited members and contributors from all facets of the e-mobility ecosystem; Drive Electric is now a joint effort between leaders in energy, auto, charging, infrastructure, policy and finance.

One such leader is our Chairman, Mark Gilbert, who was appointed in 2014. Mark brought with him an extensive network of industry connections and a passion for the movement that has enabled Drive Electric to grow rapidly in membership numbers and influence. As the organisation has grown, so has our board; today, executives from several prominent New Zealand companies lend their expertise to the ongoing efforts of Drive Electric and the e-mobility movement. These board members have been key to our strong working relationships with the government agencies and industry groups needed to instigate change.

In 2014, we hosted our first Ministerial Roundtable. This was the initial step in what is now a long-running discourse between our organisation and the key governmental policy-makers in transport, energy and emissions reduction. We continue to make policy submissions, engage directly with government officials and business leaders, and to promote the benefits of electric vehicles to the public.

All of these efforts have grown our influence. We were closely involved with the introduction of the industry-changing Clean Car Discount incentives along with other EV-related policies in 2021, and Mark is the Chair of the government’s Clean Car Sector Leadership Group. Drive Electric is also now prolific in the New Zealand media as a trusted source of information on transport and climate related issues, and our network of members now includes the majority of the key businesses involved in the EV industry.

Explore other Drive Electric landmark moments here.

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