Plan to cut corners on electric car safety

Lower crash standards could be instituted for electric cars to ease their introduction to New Zealand roads.

But the Transport Ministry says safety will not be compromised for environmental gain, despite the Government's aim of halving domestic transport emissions per capita by 2040.

"We are looking at an ability to create a new classification," said Simon King, a technology and fuels adviser with the ministry. "But vehicles will develop, vehicles will start arriving that do meet our frontal impact standards, and it's not expected to be too far away."

Long seen as a futuristic pipedream, electric cars are expected to make up 60 per cent of the country's vehicle fleet by 2040.

The first private models could be on our roads in just three years.

Safety is seen as a big impediment to introducing the cars, many of which would not be permitted in New Zealand under current impact regulations. The Reva G-Wiz, for example, is popular in London but would fail safety standards here.

Mr King said safety regulations for the zero-emission cars would be part of a Transport Ministry-led electric car work programme.

"We still need to make sure they are appropriate for our unique land transport system," he said at a Sustainable Energy Forum seminar yesterday.

Energy Minister David Parker said six weeks ago that the Government had no plans to relax safety standards for vehicle imports.

But a spokesman for Land Transport NZ said electric cars would need a different classification because of their inability to meet safety rules.

"A lot of them don't even come close to meeting the standards, particularly the frontal-impact standard," Andy Knackstedt said.

"There is obviously a mandate to promote sustainable transport but safety has to be a big part of sustainability."

Mr Knackstedt said the public would have to be made aware of the lower crash standards.

Meridian Energy will introduce the first electric cars into New Zealand next year, as as part of a demonstration project.

K-J Kells, an executive adviser with Meridian who has tested about 40 electric cars, said technological gains could make different safety classifications moot.

"Quite a number of vehicles now are meeting frontal impact standards," she said. "We want to make sure the vehicles coming into New Zealand are safe."

Ms Kells said small commuter-type electric cars would be in use in New Zealand by 2010, with larger family sedans available in seven years.

Brian Bull, of the Electricity Commission, said a high portion of the domestic vehicle market would be electric by the 2030s.

He said this would have little impact on the national grid if charging was done off-peak.

- © Fairfax NZ News