Mayor’s EV still going strong after 15 years

Nelson mayor Nick Smith has a 15-year-old car that’s a keeper – and it’s an EV.

Smith bought his Mitsubishi i-MiEV new in 2010 for $84,000, back when the petrol equivalent cost $26,000.

Smith was climate change and environment minister at the time and threw down the gauntlet to the motor vehicle industry, saying he wanted to be the first customer of the first company that produced a purpose-built electric vehicle.

At that time, it was a great source of intrigue, he said.

There weren’t any charging stations, and making the switch to an electric vehicle came with some adjustments.

Once, on a cold winter’s night during a journey out to Motueka, his wife, Linley, asked if he could put on the heater. As long as she was prepared to push, Smith told her.

“The range was small, and I did notice that particularly at night and when you had the heater on, it hugely reduced the vehicle’s range.”

The car has now done over 80,000 kilometres, and that range has dropped from 110km to about 80km.

Smith admitted there had been some “entertainment” from his neighbours in Tasman when he had gone to council meetings there, run short of charge, and had to run a lead out of the office to recharge it.

He confessed to having been caught half a dozen times and ending up “stranded” with insufficient charge.

But the vehicle has had no maintenance issues in its 15 years of use, and Smith still drives the EV as his mayoral wheels.

As to whether he’s due for an upgrade, Smith said he’s a believer in driving cars until they die. It’s still reliable, and he has recently made inquiries with Mitsubishi as to whether he can get a battery replacement.

Asked if it had sentimental value, Smith said he loved it. It accelerated quicker than a petrol vehicle and was “a beauty to drive”, he said.

“It’s got great pickup. It’s obviously very easy to park, although I occasionally get myself in trouble for being too tight on my parking.

“And I love the fact that it’s quiet, and 90% of the time I’m simply charging it at home in my garage overnight on the cheap power rate that I am able to pre-programme from midnight through to 4am.”

Last week, the Government announced it would provide $52.7 million in zero‑interest loans to support the roll-out of more than 2500 new public EV charging points across the country.

Smith said he met with Energy Minister Simon Watts last Monday and would be working hard to ensure that Nelson secured its share of those additional charging stations.

His hope was for an additional 100 charging stations in Nelson and Tasman to be achieved, he said.

In the 15 years since he bought the first New Zealand EV, there had been a phenomenal improvement in technology, not dissimilar to the history of early petrol cars, and he expected to see that improvement continuing, he said.

“I’m amazed that they are now producing EVs with a range of over 500km. I think EVs are the future.

“As a driver, they are a whole new level of driving experience, and the bonus of being quiet and having zero emissions just adds to them being a great choice.”

By Warren Gamble, Nelson Mail