Electric motorcycle, moped numbers double on NZ roads in five years

Sunday, 9 February 2020

Would you commute on an e-moped? (First published April 2019)

Electric motorcycle and moped use has risen sharply over the last five years, but an expert says costs are still a barrier.

There are now 422 electric motorcycles and mopeds with an active vehicle licence on New Zealand roads, according to data acquired through the Official Information Act.

The number is almost double what it was 2015, when there were 225 of the vehicles in the country.

The number of electric mopeds and motorcycles, such as those run by Kwikli, has almost doubled on New Zealand roads since 2015.

Rushabh Trivedy is the chief executive of Kwikli, an e-moped ride-sharing service launched in Auckland in 2018.

Micromobility expert Oliver Bruce says when compared to the rise of e-scooter usage, the uptake of electric motorbikes has been low.

* Electric moped ride-sharing scheme kicks off in Auckland**

Trivedy said a global increase of people 'challenging our own assumptions and habits of energy usage' was behind the rise.

'Considering the effects of fossil fuels, there's been an increase in innovations of alternative, more sustainable technologies in major industries,' he said.

'Getting around is just another opportunity for people to reconsider whether driving cars is actually the better option or not.'

But micro-mobility expert Oliver Bruce said he felt the figure was low compared to the recent rise in e-scooter and e-bike use and that high costs were to blame.

'They’re just too expensive. It costs around $3000 to $4500 to buy one in New Zealand whereas in China you can buy an electric moped for about $500,' he said.

'When it gets to that price point in New Zealand I think we will see more of an uptake.'

Figures from Statistics NZ show more than 47,000 e-bikes and e-scooters were imported into New Zealand in 2018, up from 23,326 the year before.

A New Zealand Transport Agency spokesperson said the Government was investigating ways to further support the uptake of electric vehicles.

'New technology, like … electric motorbikes and mopeds, are opening up the range of transport choices that people can make,' they said.

'This creates better choices for New Zealanders, and contributes to a zero carbon transport environment for New Zealand.'

The spokesperson said New Zealand was well placed to benefit from electric vehicles.

'More than 80 per cent of electricity is generated from renewable sources and there is enough supply for widespread adoption of EVs.'

In 2016, the Government announced its Electric Vehicles Programme which included measures to increase the number of electric vehicles in New Zealand.

It has a goal of reaching about 64,000 electric vehicles on our roads by the end of 2021.