Industry pro-battery group is urging fast tracking.

DETERMINATION for at least a third of cars on the road to be electric or hybrid drivetrains by 2035 has won support from a high-profile organisation already pushing for that change, but it wants Government to step on it.

 The imperative to swerve the national light vehicle fleet, which comprises four million vehicles, toward battery involvement is core to Government’s Emissions Reduction Plan, which will have $4.5 billion in funding and aims to reduce global warming and avoid the catastrophic impacts of climate change.

 The transport strategy includes half a billion dollars to help low-income families shift to electric and hybrid vehicles – part of the Government's commitment to ensuring climate action does not further entrench inequality.

Drive Electric, a champion of electric mobility whose many corporate involvers include many high-profile new vehicle distributors, says the plan confirms the future of mobility here will be electric.

However, it also suggests the impetus for change will come from delivering new vehicles with latest technology, rather than continuing reliance on mainly ex-Japan pre-owned cars that are, on average, already eight years old before they get to this country.

It pointed out that more than 70 models of new electric vehicles available, that this year EV registrations to date, as at end of March, are running 38 percent ahead of the same period of last year and that, in April, 39 percent of all vehicles sold were an EV, plug-in electric or a hybrid.

“If you watch the global automotive market - we’ve been seeing for some time that EV technology will replace petrol and diesel cars,” said chair Mark Gilbert, who in previous corporate capacity ran the national distributorship for the BMW brand.

“This may happen faster than you might think.

 “Drive Electric welcomes the Emissions Reduction Plan … however, the time for talking is now well over. It’s time to get on with executing the plan and removing emissions from transport.”

As such, Drive Electric would love to see broad support across Parliament for the transport provisions to create certainty for business and consumers.

“Most of the manufacturers have made some form of commitment to going completely electric as have many countries, including the United Kingdom.

“Today signals that New Zealand wants to be part of that transition, and avoid becoming a dumping ground for dirty second-hand vehicles from other markets.

“This makes so much sense for a country with our access to renewable energy. EVs will drive down the costs of owning a vehicle and give New Zealand more energy independence. The world around us today shows how important that will be.

 Drive Electric said the plan’s determination to implement the completion of a national charging infrastructure strategy, a vehicle scrappage scheme, a social leasing programme and investigation into extending the Clean Car discount to other vehicle types were all ideas it has promoted.