Electric vehicles (EV)

Petrol and diesel road transport contributes around 35% of Wellington City's carbon emissions.

To achieve a net zero-carbon capital by 2050, all new vehicles would need to be fully battery electric from 2030.

As of 2020, about 1% of Wellington city car registrations were electric.

Benefits of electric vehicles

Electric cars cost the equivalent of 30c per litre when charged at home overnight. A typical household can reduce their annual energy bill from $2500 of petrol to around $300 of electricity. That's works out to be about $8.00 a week compared to $48.00 per week
Maintenance costs are very low because they have fewer moving parts.
Electric cars are likely to become cheaper as petrol prices continue to rise and battery prices reduce.

Electric cars emit up to 85% less carbon than an equivalent petrol car driven in New Zealand, as our country’s electricity production comes primarily from renewable sources.
Emission reductions are expected to improve over time, because our electricity grid will become cleaner over the coming decade.
Over their life cycle, electric cars emit much less carbon than petrol cars, even when considering raw material extraction, battery manufacture, vehicle manufacture and shipping. As the technologies develop, this is also expected to reduce over time.

Electric vehicles accelerate quickly and are quieter than petrol vehicles.
They require minimal maintenance, and batteries are designed to last many years.
Cars can go for several days without charging, depending on their use.

We're raising awareness by educating and encouraging people to go electric.
We're installing chargers around Wellington, including fast and medium chargers in the city centre and medium-speed chargers in residential streets where houses are unable to charge on their own property.
We’re leading by example and converting our Council car fleet to electric. We're working towards our own fleet being fully electric by 2030 or earlier.
We're advocating to Central Government to introduce financial measures and regulations that increase electric vehicle use.

Wellington, Hutt, Porirua, and Upper Hutt City Councils are installing 80 new fast-charging electric vehicle stations over the next 5 years.

Chargers will be in Council-owned locations around the city such as recreation facilities, libraries, and community centres.

Wellington City Council committed to installing 60 new chargers across Wellington’s communities as part of the adoption of 2019’s Te Atakura: First to Zero Climate Action Plan. You can find about the progress of this project on the Charged up Capital: EV chargers page.

This programme is co-funded by the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority.

By working together we aim to make Wellington a leader in electric vehicle uptake.

For a list of all charging locations visit plugshare.com.

If a non-electric vehicle is blocking a charger port, phone the Council on 04 499 4444 and make a parking complaint.

For charging station instructions and support, look on the charger for a phone number.