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State-owned electricity producer Meridian Energy says it is prepared to pull the plug on plans to import electric cars, if materials and methods used to produce the vehicles prove too polluting.
Meridian last month announced plans to purchase more than a dozen fully electric cars, which could be provided to high-profile New Zealanders to help spread the eco-friendly message.
But the cars have copped criticism recently from the author of influential car magazine The Dog & Lemon Guide.
Clive Matthew-Wilson last month blasted the vehicles, claiming "electric cars simply don't make economic or environmental sense".
He said electric cars had been plagued by three major problems: high cost, limited range and constant need for battery re-charging.
Light-weight materials used in such vehicles - including fibreglass and carbon fibre - were also expensive to make and "incredibly toxic".
Mr Matthew-Wilson believed that as the power supplies were strictly limited, too many electric cars needing to be recharged at day's end would cause an energy drain that could force producers to use fossil fuels to meet demand.
Meridian spokesman Alan Seay told the Herald that the company would look at possible pollution problems caused by production of electric cars as part of the purchasing process.
"We are still in the process of sourcing them, and all those issues, these are the kinds of performance issues we would be looking at before we decided what sort of models we wanted to adopt."
Meridian had "no hard and fast figures" for the number of cars it intended to import, but it was not the power producer's intention to go into the car market, Mr Seay said.
The vehicles are expected to be in the country by early next year.
Energy Minister David Parker - who has long been a fan of electric vehicles - rejected Mr Matthew-Wilson's claims.
Even if electric cars were dirty to make and unsafe to use, they would still have to meet government safety guidelines.
"The Government has no plans to relax safety standards for vehicle imports. These technologies are already being used in top-end cars and manufacturers are unveiling plans to make electric cars mainstream."
He dismissed the idea that increasing numbers of electric cars would require the use of fossil fuel-fired power production to meet vehicle re-charging demand.
"The Prime Minister recently announced a target of 90 per cent renewable energy in the electricity sector by 2025, so we are set to see amounts of renewable electricity available increasing over time," he said.
"New Zealand is fortunate to have so much renewable energy available at economic prices; the uptake of technologies such as electric cars will see an increasingly sustainable transport fleet."
Mr Parker also praised Meridian for its plans to raise awareness of electric vehicles.
"From a Minister of Energy point of view, of course, I am delighted to see companies, both public and private, supporting the Government's push towards sustainability, and I congratulate them on their efforts."
Mitsubishi sales and marketing general manager Peter Wilkins said he doubted any mainstream car producers would stick for long with production methods that were too environmentally unfriendly.
Mitsubishi was testing an electric car - the I-miev - that it was hoped would be available in commercial quantities in about three years.
The I-miev model is based on the petrol-propelled I-car, and would have a range of about 160km, he said.
He rejected concerns about pollution caused by manufacturing the I-miev, as initial models would use the same materials as the I-car.
PETROL V ELECTRICITY
Mitsubishi I-car
* Runs on: Petrol.
* Power source: 660cc internal combustion engine.
* Fuel emissions: Half New Zealand and international average.
* Range: 5.43L/100km.
Mitsubishi I-miev
* Runs on: Electricity.
* Power source: High-density ion-lithium battery.
* Fuel emissions: Zero.
* Range: One battery charge/160km.
