Newton's law on economic transport

DEAN KOZANIC/The Press

UNPLUGGED: David Newton, a Christchurch teacher, drives an electric car, the engine of which he built himself, to reduce his impact on global warming.

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A Christchurch science teacher's bright spark is still going strong.

For the last seven months, Shirley Boys' High School teacher David Newton has driven to school in an electric car he built himself.

He spent $10,000 greening his 1987 Suzuki Alto, assembling the electric engine from scratch.

With a range of 25 kilometres and a maximum speed of 80km, Newton might not be going far, but insists it's worth it. "We have to start doing something to reduce our reliance on fossil fuels with the impact they have on global warming."

Running costs were significantly less than petrol, he said.

"The running costs on a per kilometre basis are about four cents a kilometre. My little Honda City, on petrol, costs about 10 cents a kilometre."

Newton, who began building his car early last year, advised people to wait for superior lithium iron phosphate batteries to fall in price before going electric. "When these batteries halve in price again then we'll see hundreds of electric cars."

The car's batteries are plugged in each night to charge before his 12km round trip to work.

Cars converted from petrol to electricity need to undergo low volume vehicle certification, a New Zealand Transport Agency spokesman said.

- © Fairfax NZ News