More than 3000 electric vehicles are now registered in New Zealand, much to the delight of Transport Minister Simon Bridges.

'I am delighted with the number of EV registrations we are now seeing. This year there has been 517 EV registrations bringing the total number of EVs in New Zealand to 3005. With nine months to go we are already half way to achieving our 2017 target.

'While 1513 EVs were registered in New Zealand in 2016, in Australia only about 220 EVs were. This clearly demonstrates the success of the New Zealand Government's EV programme at pushing up purchasing.”

Infrastructure and charging stations are ever-expanding across the country to support the growing number of EVs on our roads.

There are now about 50 fast chargers, including one on The Strand in Tauranga, available throughout the length of the country, with more coming, giving EV driver's greater confidence on longer journeys.

'We're also seeing more new models [cars] coming onto the market and an increased interest from EV manufacturers – with both Hyundai Ioniq and Tesla, for example, recently announcing their entry into New Zealand,” says Simon.

'There's also been a big increase in the models and quantity of used EVs being brought into New Zealand. This means more EVs, at a range of prices, giving more choice to New Zealander's when they decide to step up on this.

'Electric vehicles are the future. A move from petrol and diesel to low emission transport is a natural evolution. We are working hard to encourage this and it's fantastic to see more and more New Zealanders recognising the benefits of EVs.”

Driving an electric vehicle in New Zealand produces 80 per cent fewer carbon emissions than a petrol or diesel car due to New Zealand's abundant renewable electricity.

In May 2016, the Government announced its Electric Vehicle Programme, a wide ranging package of measures to encourage the uptake of EVs in New Zealand.

The target is to double the fleet each year, reaching 64,000 EV registrations by the end of 2021.

The Government's EV website can be found at: www.electricvehicles.govt.nz