29 March 2021

Canberra's first registered electric car arrives

| johnboy
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Blade Electron Vehicle

Mr Stanhope is celebrating the arrival in Canberra of a Wollemi Systems’ new electric car.

It was manufactured by Victorian-based Blade Electric Vehicles, which converts the Hyundai Getz to an all-electric motor and operating system.

Mr Stanhope congratulated Wollemi Systems for supporting the renewable energy technology.

“As a city designed for motor vehicles, Canberra is an ideal place for companies like Wollemi Systems to use an electric vehicle to travel to and from appointments at sites across the city,” Mr Stanhope said.

“Combined with green power or renewable energy, electric vehicles can run on zero emissions helping to achieve a significant reduction in our carbon footprint.

“I want to congratulate Wollemi Systems for supporting this important emerging technology and setting a precedent for low emissions travel for businesses and individuals in the ACT.

“The ACT Government strongly supports the use of electric vehicles as a way of reducing our city’s greenhouse gas emissions.

“The Government has offered planning and regulatory assistance to Better Place and ActewAGL who plans to roll out electric vehicle infrastructure including recharge points in Canberra.

“The Government is also exploring the option of replacing some of the public service car fleet with electric cars,” Mr Stanhope said.

Something to keep an eye out for.

READ ALSO The best places to buy electric cars in Canberra

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farq said :

steveu said :

Free parking for fully EV vehicles may assist the take up of these things…

Exactly.

I’d get one if I could park it at work for free.

Public transport is not going to work in the near future. I don’t have an extra 80mins a day to waste on the bus.

Electric cars are going to be great for Canberra!

Ride a bike or motorcycle if you want free parking. Whether it’s petrol or electric, cars with sole occupants still take up way too much space and deserve no concession.

And even if electric cars did get free parking spots, they’re not going to magically generate parking spots or improve the flow of traffic in Canberra. It’ll still be the same old shit fight, only the shit will smell of roses.

steveu said :

Free parking for fully EV vehicles may assist the take up of these things…

Exactly.

I’d get one if I could park it at work for free.

Public transport is not going to work in the near future. I don’t have an extra 80mins a day to waste on the bus.

Electric cars are going to be great for Canberra!

“Yes but what do the ’studies’ show when the hour by public transport covers a journey that takes ten minutes by car which is what can occur in Canberra?”

Haven’t seen any data on that, although I share your annoyance. It is one of the things that the consultant who presented draft findings for the STAP looked at. he defined these as ‘local’ services and recommended reducing the service frequency to around an hour per service. Which to me is ridiculous.

If the Canberra Transport Plan, which was due the first quarter of this year, ever arrives, it will be interesting to se what the final recommendations are. It is bus-focussed BTW, although the ‘rapid’ routes provide a good idea of the first stages for a light rail route.

“I think it is more reasonable to assume if public transport takes the same time as a private journey people are more likely to use it. If it takes a lot longer and runs at times not suited then the car (or possibly the bike) will win every time.”

Sure, and Mr Stnahope and co will charge you 6 to 10 dollars a day for that privilege. They love having empty cars that carried one person sitting idle for as many hours as you care in their carparks. At a STAP seminar i saw a slide which had percentages of people who would choose public transport at various parking rates. When parking was 30 dollars a day, 80% chose to use the bus.

The way to promote public transport begins with quality public transport that is frequent, reliable and attractive. You cannot punish people into using it.

damien haas said :

“The there is the extra hour a day that I would spend sitting on a bus…”

Studies have shown that an hour is an acceptable time for people to get to a from b using public transport. Anything longer than that and they turn to private vehicles.

Yes but what do the ‘studies’ show when the hour by public transport covers a journey that takes ten minutes by car which is what can occur in Canberra?

I think it is more reasonable to assume if public transport takes the same time as a private journey people are more likely to use it. If it takes a lot longer and runs at times not suited then the car (or possibly the bike) will win every time.

When bicycle is faster than bus, why bus?

“The there is the extra hour a day that I would spend sitting on a bus…”

Studies have shown that an hour is an acceptable time for people to get to a from b using public transport. Anything longer than that and they turn to private vehicles.

damien haas said :

If a two car family got rid of one car it would save 10,000 dollars a year (according to the NRMA). Thats an expensive free car park – even if your car runs on batteries – compared to an $80 a month public transport ticket.

That does make it all seem nice and simple. Currently though our second car is a bike, costing a whole lot less then $10k a year (unless I crash it and buy a new one each couple of years). The there is the extra hour a day that I would spend sitting on a bus…

Public transport will have to improve rather a lot to make it seem worth while.

Ideally, I see there being hundreds and hundreds of small electric cars like these, and anyone can use them any time to go anywhere. If society could get over the weird idea that they have to own something to use it. While it might not be as instant as having your own car in the drive way all the time, it would be much better, quicker etc then waiting for the current awesome buses.

Phewww!! rant over for the day, pass the beer.

While electric vehicles are a good alternative to fossil fuelled vehicles, they are not a substitute for public transport. The danger in the sustainable transport debate is that people get sidetracked by the peak-oilers and alternative fuelled vehicles proponents, and lose sight of the fact that all an electric car does is change places with a commodore sitting for 9 hours a day in that free carpark in barton.

Proper sustainable transport begins with quality public transport that is frequent, reliable and attractive. This will allow people to use public transport as their primary mode of transport between employment, education and residential areas.

If a two car family got rid of one car it would save 10,000 dollars a year (according to the NRMA). Thats an expensive free car park – even if your car runs on batteries – compared to an $80 a month public transport ticket.

Yay! Electric cars need to become more popular.

If I get a regular petrol car on a lease plan, salary sacrifice, I can roll the fuel into the package and get a tax break on the fuel.

If I get one of these on a salary sacrifice deal, can the electrickery be part of that deal?

…and if I charge it while at work, do I have to pay FBT on the power it uses?

Free parking for fully EV vehicles may assist the take up of these things…and also a true statement of commitment to green from the government…or is this just another example of environmental tokenism?

Blade’s website shows the price list as follows:
Electron MkV electric five-door hatch: Approx. $1050 per month lease over 36 months or $52,000
Electron eX electric three-door hatch: Approx. $800 per month lease over 36 months or $44,000
Electron R electric five door hatch: Approx. $35,000

That looks to be based on a new car though, and the Hyundai Getz it’s based on has been around since 2003; wonder if they’ll convert a second hand one if you supply it? Buy Getz with stuffed engine cheaply, convert, save?

hang on – wasnt Stanhope making headlines saying that he was going to roll out a fleet of these things months ago…now they are ‘looking into the feasibility”. Sounds like a back pedal to me.

KaleenOutback10:45 pm 18 Aug 10

Sounds great – until you run the numbers.

Comparing the fuel efficiency of a Hyundai Getz, taking into account the upfront purchase cost and depreciation differences and assuming 20,000 km per year, over 5 years you can avoid about 16 tonnes of CO2 equivalent by buying a Blade Electric Vehicle at a (present value) cost of about $1600 per tonne of CO2 avoided.

This compares with about $400-$500 for the ACT’s (hideously expensive) feed in tariff scheme, or around $20-$50 on the carbon offset market.

This car is a fantastic deal – if you are financially illiterate, and into green symbolism; an assessment borne out by the last paragraph in Stanhope’s press release.

Is Stanhope guaranteeing that all the EV cars the ACT Government will run, will be run on greenhouse-neutral electricity?

Can it do a burnout? On a more serious note, can it accelerate like my electric remote control car?

georgesgenitals said :

Anyone know what they cost?

I know the guy who bought this car (nice guy btw) and he said $50k for the car + conversion.

Rollersk8r said :

Talk about mixed messages. On the one hand they’re actively reducing parking spaces and telling us to catch the bus (or catch the ferry if you buy on the Kingston Foreshore!). But on the other electric vehicles are ideally suited to a city designed for cars??

It’s just a lack of future vision from this government. Everything seems to be done as an afterthought, and with low expectations.

Trunking symbols5:17 pm 18 Aug 10

How much does the extension cord cost?

Its a great car – we have it on lease for about $1000 /mth.

Important to note that it is the first commercially produced EV. Not the first registered…

There is already a vibrant community of EV converters in canberra, and they are the real pioneers.

Its made by Blade Electric Vehicle, and its the first car in Australia that you can sensibly buy. The cost is comparable to any hybrid, and to be full electric

It is a fully Australian Design Rules compliant vehicle – you can finance it, and insure it. It has its own compliance plates.

There are definitely considerable savings in going electric – to read more have http://www.wollemisystems.com/wollemi_ev_story

Holden Caulfield3:07 pm 18 Aug 10

No Tesla, no care!

Captain RAAF2:44 pm 18 Aug 10

I’ll be sure to bring one of my V8’s to work this week to celebrate this great milestone!

But all Riot ACT readers know it isn’t real until it has a media release.

georgesgenitals2:30 pm 18 Aug 10

It will be good in a few years when electric cars become commonplace, and affordable. I’d be quite happy to do my daily drop off of the family then work commute, followed by the reverse in the evenings. The plug it in overnight and let it recharge. For longer trips I’ll use my other car.

I read in a motoring magazine that if you charge your electric vehicle at home, it costs about one sixth as much as powering the same sized vehicle using petrol.

I think “first registered electric car” is at least a little wrong. The Canberra EV people have quite a few enthusiast-converted electric cars on Canberra’s roads already. http://www.canberraev.org/

I’ll admit “first commercially converted new electric car” doesn’t have quite the same ring to it, nor does “Canberra’s first electric car with it’s own press release.” 😉

Good to see something worthwhile. Looking forward to when cars like this become more mainstream (cheaper) and the supporting infrastructure is in place 🙂

eyeLikeCarrots1:51 pm 18 Aug 10

Sammy said :

Anyone know what they cost?

According to Bernie Hobbs, who was interviewed on ABC the other morning about purchasing one of these, about $50k.

Ouch…… my wallet just had a palpitation.

How big a PV system do I need on my roof to drive one each day and still not pay for electrickery?

Talk about mixed messages. On the one hand they’re actively reducing parking spaces and telling us to catch the bus (or catch the ferry if you buy on the Kingston Foreshore!). But on the other electric vehicles are ideally suited to a city designed for cars??

Not sure about Bernie’s numbers. If it is the Electron electric vehicle from BEV, you are looking at $30k-$35k purchase price, and can also do leases. There is information at http://bev.com.au/about/at-a-glance/

A slightly older source that gives some first-hand experience of owning one is http://www.earthgarden.com.au/greenwheels/bev.html

Anyone know what they cost?

According to Bernie Hobbs, who was interviewed on ABC the other morning about purchasing one of these, about $50k.

Cool beans! I’m keeping an ear out for any developments on Better Place Australia’s EV network in Canberra. They’ve been pretty quiet for some time.

Actually, it’s a Blade Electric Vehicles electric car. Wollemi Systems just purchased it.

I guess if you remove the “a” before “Wollemi Systems’ new electric car”, the sentence will be correct.

georgesgenitals1:23 pm 18 Aug 10

Anyone know what they cost?

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