Kiwi Property & Meridian tap into rising electric car sales

MEDIA RELEASE
16 September 2016

Charge for free: Kiwi Property and Meridian Energy tap into rising electric car sales

Two of New Zealand’s leading companies, Kiwi Property and Meridian Energy, have joined forces to help support electric car adoption and give New Zealand shoppers a free ride.

As part of a nationwide roll-out, the partners today unveiled four new free electric car charging stations at Kiwi Property’s LynnMall Shopping Centre in New Lynn, Auckland. Twelve other charging stations are being added to Kiwi Property’s shopping malls at The Plaza in Palmerston North, Northlands in Christchurch and Sylvia Park (where Kiwi Property’s existing two charging stations are already in high demand).

Jason Happy, National Facilities Manager for Kiwi Property, said: “We’re delighted to be partnering with Meridian Energy on such an important initiative. As industry leaders, we have an obligation to support technology that provides us with cleaner energy and a better environment.”

The new chargers at LynnMall will help open up West Auckland to electric car owners who will be able to top up while they shop at the recently refurbished centre.

Neal Barclay, General Manager Retail for Meridian, said: “Meridian wants to make sure we grow awareness of electric cars and the role they will play in creating a better energy future for all. Charging infrastructure and drawing drivers’ attention to the benefits of harnessing renewable fuel is a great way to help drive public awareness and uptake of electric cars.”

“Our role in the electric car market is all about demonstrating the benefits of going electric and supporting drivers with great rates and infrastructure and also partnering with like-minded organisations like Kiwi Property,” says Mr Barclay.

Mr Happy said the new electric car charging stations were part of Kiwi Property’s focus on sustainable business practices and offering customers more from their retail experience.

“The installation of 16 new electric car charging stations supports early adopters, as well as meeting the demand of the increasing number of registered electric cars in New Zealand.”

“Since we installed our first two car charging stations at Sylvia Park almost two years ago they’ve been used more than 2,250 times. We’ve had requests from our customers for more stations to be installed, and we’re proud to make this a reality in partnership with Meridian Energy,” says Mr Happy.

Ends

Notes:

• There are 1,507 registered electric cars in New Zealand, a number which has increased dramatically in recent years as infrastructure improves.

• The initiative is part of Kiwi Property’s broader sustainability programme, which has operated successfully for more than 12 years. The programme concentrates on driving positive environmental outcomes and cost efficiencies by improving energy, water and waste use across the Kiwi Property portfolio. Delivering social benefits to the communities in which it operates is a focus too.

• The electric car charging stations have a type 1 plug which is currently used by Leaf, Outlanders, BMW and Audi, and typically take 3.5-7 hrs (depending on the charge rate acceptable to the car and the size of the battery in the car) to charge electric cars.

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