Auckland’s southernmost public electric vehicle (EV) charger was opened today in Takanini, just in time for the holiday travel period. The rapid charging station is the latest addition to Vector’s Auckland network as EV registrations continue to rise across the region.

Auckland has by far the largest proportion of New Zealand’s registered EVs and Vector Chief Executive, Simon Mackenzie, says the Takanini station is a crucial part of the region’s charging network.

“Takanini Village is well-placed as pit stop either into or out of Auckland. Here you’ve got the Southern Motorway, Great South Road, the proposed Mill Road Corridor, and a fantastic shopping centre,” says Mr Mackenzie.

“We’ve also had quite a few requests for a charger in Takanini and have been working with Takanini Village who are absolutely supportive. It’s a no brainer really.”

Takanini Village developer, James Wallace of Tonea Investments, says “we are thrilled to host the districts first EV charging station at Takanini Village. We have been invested in Takanini for a very long time and we’ve enjoyed watching it evolve and grow over the last 30 years. The addition of the EV charging station is just another example of Takanini’s transformation and we’re very proud to be a part of that.”

Vector’s EV charging programme has been made possible with the support of majority shareholder Entrust, via a fund which has historically been used for undergrounding projects in the Entrust district. This has recently been extended to include new technology such as solar and battery and EV chargers.

Photo L-R: Entrust Trustee Dr Paul Hutchison, Papakura Local Board Chair Brent Catchpole, Vector’s Diane Green, and James Wallace of Tonea Investments (Takanini Village developer).

Notes

• Vector’s EV charging app shows the location and type of chargers across the region, with real-time information about the status of Vector’s rapid chargers.
• Depending on the vehicle, rapid chargers can replenish 80 per cent of a 32Kw battery in 20 minutes.
• As at 18 November 2016 Vector’s networks have:
  • had 9,095 rapid charging sessions in total
  • an average 20 minutes’ charge time
  • delivered 59.28 MWh of electricity which would allow a Nissan Leaf to drive 342,705km saving 78,803 kilograms of CO2 emissions.
• Up until the end of July there were 2,035 light EVs registered in New Zealand, largely concentrated in Auckland.
• There is more EV choice with an increasing number of both new and used model imports, as well as Tesla announcing direct EV sales in New Zealand next year.
• The Government has an extensive programme to support the uptake of EVs in New Zealand including: supporting EV charging networks; exemptions from road user charges; contestable funds; and EV use of bus and high occupancy lanes.