On Thursday April 7, the ‘Leading the Charge 2016’ electric car road train will meet on Whangarei’s Victoria Canopy Bridge, bringing ‘Who Killed The Electric Car’ documentary maker Chelsea Sexton as part of a road trip from Cape Reinga to Hamilton. It’s the perfect time to meet EV enthusiasts, sit in a Tesla and maybe even take one for a test drive.

The electric car market worldwide has become extremely dynamic. Electric car sales rose 15% in the US in January. Germany and Norway have recently seen 1% of their total car market going to electric vehicles (EVs). Tesla is a major player in the electric market, and Fiat and Kia are doing well, although Nissan’s Leaf is the world's all-time best selling highway-capable all-electric car. Just about every manufacturer offers an electric model. With over 1015 EVs now registered in NZ, I’ve been wondering: does buying electric help with where we want our infrastructure to be in future?

Last week I had the pleasure of attending a business meeting where Joe from the NRC and Russell from Northpower did a presentation on EVs. It was very impressive! The NRC and Northpower are jointly installing more power charge points around Northland, showing that Northland is as modern as any other region (there are 142 public charging locations in NZ; Northland should shortly have a total of 12.)

So, now that we’ve had the advent of EVs, what might it mean for Whangarei’s growth?

EVs include trucks and 4x4s. Zero Emission Vehicles has produced a truck that can replace the noisy, costly and smelly rubbish trucks we’re all used to. They sold their model to Kapiti’s council in 2013. I wonder if Northland’s councils should pursue the same green strategy and if it will be cost-effective.

Transportation is a major issue for Whangarei, where we trade viable land for scenic routes, leaving lots of conservation land alone. It will be nice if our future involves green transport, but it’s important that the employer Refining NZ doesn’t suffer, and that green upgrades to transportation aren’t a nuisance. Construction of the cycle ways heading out to Onerahi has not been helping with congestion at the moment. What we should be looking at is the growth of Northland and what standards we need to be having for our roading networks, because we can’t all take a helicopter to get to work.

Ps- Want to know where the EV charge points are? Here’s a guide.