Cars that can drive themselves could be key to cutting commuter congestion
By Kurt Bayer. Cars that can drive themselves, London-like double-decker buses, and road tolls, could be keys to cutting commuter congestion in New Zealand’s major cities, Transport Minister Simon Bridges said today. More work than simply improving roads needs to be done to reduce peak-hour traffic, Mr Bridges said at the New Zealand Council for […]
Audi A3 e-tron hybrid is surprisingly normal
By Peter Louisson. Other than pure EVs, which aren’t exactly common, there’s essentially no car you can buy that doesn’t have some form of internal combustion engine. Typically eco-vehicles have a small economical engine, along with an electric motor and a pathetic battery pack that permits sod-all EV motoring, and then at little more than […]
Electric Car Drivers Tell Ford: We’ll Never Go Back To Gasoline
By Stephen Edelstein. Fully nine out of 10 electric-car drivers say they won’t go back to cars with internal-combustion engines, according to a new Ford survey. The results included responses from 10,000 drivers of both battery-electric cars and plug-in hybrids. It found that 92 percent of battery-electric drivers, and 94 percent of plug-in hybrid drivers, […]
Here’s how Elon Musk gets Tesla to 500,000 cars a year by 2020
By Tom Randall. Tesla’s $31 billion stock value is built on a dream-that a startup might somehow be able to produce a half-million all-electric cars per year by 2020. But a steady drip of production delays and lowered sales forecasts have caused some to question whether his 500,000-car goal is still possible, if it ever […]
Drive Electric- Appointment of General Manager – Eric Pyle
Drive Electric – the industry body focused on promoting the uptake of electric vehicles in New Zealand – today announced the appointment of Eric Pyle as General Manager. Eric is also the Chief Executive of the New Zealand Wind Energy Association, a role he will continue in. “We are thrilled to have Eric come on […]
Tesla’s loss triples in 2Q as it lowers delivery forecast
Tesla Motors’ upcoming Model X SUV cast a long shadow over the company’s second-quarter results. Tesla’s net loss nearly tripled to $184 million in the April-June period as it invested in tooling and factory capacity for the new SUV, which is scheduled to go on sale next month. The Palo Alto, California, maker of electric […]
Electric cars could be recharged as they are driven
By Tom Pullar-Strecker. The New Zealand Transport Agency has been criticised for splurging billions of dollars on new roads without working out how to prepare them for use by electric vehicles. There is growing interest among roading authorities overseas in building dynamic wireless charging systems into roads. These can recharge the batteries of electric vehicles […]
City to plug into car charging?
By David Beck. Dunedin residents may be able to plug in their cars and charge them just as easily as they would a mobile phone if a study being discussed by the Otago Chamber of Commerce and Dunedin City Council goes ahead. Chamber chief executive Dougal McGowan said the organisation was discussing with the council […]
ABB partners with Vector, WEL to install fast-chargers
By Kate Barker. ABB is seeing local interest grow in its electric vehicle fast-charging technology. The firm recently partnered with Vector and WEL Networks to install fast-charging stations in Auckland and Hamilton. There will be two installed next month at Vector’s Hobson Street substation and one at WEL Networks’ Hamilton North site in October. The […]