Auckland Council splashes out on 45 MG electric cars for head office

Auckland Council has purchased 45 MG ZS EVs for its head office building. Photo / File

Auckland Council has bought 45 electric MG cars for its head office in the central city.

From yesterday, five of the small SUVs a day are replacing 45 petrol cars in the Auckland House vehicle pool.

The MG ZS EVs are priced from $49,900 and qualify for an $8625 clean car discount, giving a total retail price of $1.86 million. The council would likely have also received a discount on the new fleet.

The council - facing spending cuts to fill a $295m budget hole and fix damage from the January floods and Cyclone Gabrielle - has not said how much the EVs cost.

There are currently 47 petrol cars and seven EVs, including an electric van in the pool. Two petrol hybrid cars will remain in the fleet for people needing to make long trips.

With a full charge giving a range of 320km, the MGs can travel from the council headquarters and back to any destination in the Super City, stretching from the Bombay Hills to the north of Wellsford.

“About a year ago we did an analysis of four e-vehicles on the market, including the MG,” Auckland Council’s general manager of corporate support services Robert Irvine said.

“We got people to drive and assess them. The MG was not only the lowest cost EV but also came out at the top in driver preference as well.”

Illustration / Rod Emmerson

Council staff have been told to keep several things in mind when driving the EVs, such as remembering to plug them in when returning to Auckland House and how to use ChargeNet stations.

Last year, Auckland Council received approval to spend $1.743 million from a Three Waters ‘Better Off’ payment of $127 million from the Government to reduce council corporate emissions.