Electric vehicle uptake in Dunedin 2019

Abstract

A study using the Ministry of Transport’s fleet vehicle statistics found that Dunedin had the highest penetration of electric vehicles (EVs) of New Zealand’s main cities at the end of 2018 (Dortans and Stephenson 2019). An update of their report is presented here with figures and insights from 2019 data.

By the end of 2019, Dunedin still had the highest penetration of pure electric vehicles per 1000 residents (5.16), well ahead of Wellington (4.39).

When considering both pure electric vehicles (e.g. Nissan Leaf, Tesla Model S) and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (e.g. Mitsubishi Outlander, Toyota Prius), Dunedin is slightly ahead of Wellington (6.07 and 6.01 per 1000 residents respectively), similar to in 2018.

Additionally, Dunedin continues to have the highest proportion (5.38 per 1000 residents) of electric vehicles registered for personal use, well ahead of Wellington (4.39) and Christchurch (4.19).

Personal EV registrations in Dunedin are mostly pure electric vehicles with 4.60 registrations per 1000 residents compared to other cities at 3.6 or less. However, personal registrations of plug-in hybrids have increased markedly in 2019, at a rate nearly 40% greater than its closest rival, Wellington.