Hon Simon Bridges
Minister of Transport

21 April 2016

Another Kiwi company goes electric

Transport Minister Simon Bridges says the announcement by Infratil today to begin transitioning the NZ Bus fleet to electric, is a strong step forward for the public transport sector.

Infratil and NZ Bus have joined forces with California-based company, Wrightspeed, to supply its electric powertrain technology to NZ Bus.

NZ Bus will use this technology to repower its trolley buses so they can be used anywhere in New Zealand, before looking at other selected vehicle types in its fleet to transition to electric.

“Electric vehicles are the future for New Zealand and not only in our light vehicle fleet. They will also have to play an important role in our heavy vehicle and public transport fleets. It’s great that major players like Infratil and NZ Bus are working with international partners and getting ahead of the curve,” Mr Bridges says.

Mr Bridges visited Wrightspeed founder, New Zealander Ian Wright, in Silicon Valley last year.

“I’ve driven Wrightspeed’s heavy vehicles and was impressed with what he’s achieving. His work is world leading and this collaboration should be the beginning of a great home grown story for all concerned.

“As we transition to a lower carbon economy, we need to broaden our renewable energy use beyond electricity and increase its use in the transport and industrial heat sectors. It’s great that Kiwi companies are increasingly seeing the value in this and are getting on board with going electric,” Mr Bridges says.
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