“This is about walking the talk. We see EVs as New Zealand’s largest green growth opportunity. Many people are already thinking about going electric and we are all for trialling a way to turn that consideration into action. “As well as testing a solution to get more people into EVs,Mercury Drivewill give us an even better understanding of what people are looking for from electric vehicles to help develop and support other initiatives to promote the electrification of transport in New Zealand.” Research findings released by Mercurylast weekshowed an overwhelming 84% of respondents agreed EVs are ‘the way of the future’. Julia says the strong interest from Mercury customers in the initial run ofMercury Drivebacked up what Mercury’s research had found. “There’s a new generation of drivers out there who see car ownership as optional, and that’s an opportunity to give them greater choice in how they get around.” Mercury has teamed up with Snap Rentals for the initiative, which is now live for Mercury customers based in Auckland. The site,evdrive.co.nz, is still building up vehicle availability, and taking expressions of interest, with the development team looking to grow and adapt it in conjunction with users. Mercury was also the first company to put EVs intoCityhop’s ‘cars-by-the-hour’ service, and partnered to promote New Zealand’sElectric Highwayvia the PlugShare app, which is the leading crowd-sourced EV charging station locator. Mercury also offers a 20%discount on EV chargingbetween 11pm and 7am to support EV owners and encourage off-peak charging.