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Auckland Council has purchased 10 new Hyundai Ioniq fully electric cars, two of which will be part of the general pool of vehicles kept at Orewa Service Centre.
Council advises that the cost of the vehicles is confidential, so Hibiscus Matters is taking further steps to obtain that information. That make and model currently retails at around $65,000 each.
The required charging infrastructure for the two vehicles is soon to be installed at the Orewa Service Centre car park in Centreway Road and there are no plans to make it available for public use. Council approved the sale of the service centre back in May, however it is expected to be six years until the property can be put on the market due to existing leases.
Council says the gradual reduction in its fleet size and replacement of old petrol cars with electric ones, reducing fuel and maintenance costs, is saving ratepayers money. So far savings of $600,000 have been made (this includes the recent purchase of the new electric vehicles), as well as reductions in emissions, Council says in a press release.
Over the past year, Council has reduced its fleet by 57 vehicles. The total fleet currently numbers 790 – dipping below 800 for the first time since amalgamation. The 10 new vehicles bring the total number of electric cars owned by Council to 14.
Council’s fleet includes vehicles used by Council, ATEED and just over half of the Regional Facilities Auckland fleet. The other half of the Regional Facilities Auckland fleet, and cars used by Auckland Transport, Watercare, City Parks Services and Panuku Development Auckland are not included in these calculations. Auckland Transport acquired 20 electric vehicles earlier in the year and has committed to reducing its fleet size by 15 percent.
Mayor Phil Goff says that the Council needs to show environmental leadership by reducing the size of its car fleet and progressively converting vehicles to electric to meet the country’s carbon-emission targets.
