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Car-making titans are being urged to consider making New Zealand a big showroom to the world - for electric vehicles running on its clean renewable energy.
Although industry leaders such as Mitsubishi and General Motors are preparing to sell new electric or extended-range "plug-in hybrid" vehicles in various markets over the next two years, New Zealanders may have to wait longer for them.
Government electricity generator Meridian Energy admits difficulties trying to obtain demonstration models for trials it wants to conduct this year, with keen backing from Energy Minister David Parker, and using "zero carbon" power from its hydro lakes and windfarms.
Its electric vehicles programme leader, K-J Kells, told a conference in Wellington that car-makers ranked New Zealand low on their commercial priority lists because of its modest demand for new vehicles.
Once new electric cars started becoming available in 2010, there would be stiff competition from countries offering incentives to customers to cut carbon emissions and meet Kyoto commitments.
But Ms Kells was confident of a high latent demand for clean and quiet electric cars here, given the many calls her team received each time the company made public comments about them.
"We're overwhelmed with the amount of interest at a grassroots level from people who want an electric car - we just need to harness that support," she said.
Meridian received strong moral support from overseas experts it brought to the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority's conference.
Edward Kjaer, an expatriate New Zealander heading electricity giant Southern California Edison's electric transportation division, envied this country's predominance of renewable energy.
The Massey University marketing and economics graduate was "blown away" by Meridian's commitment and the Government's target of raising renewable resources from a 65-70 per cent share of electricity supply, to 90 per cent.
"You have a great situation here in New Zealand when it comes to transportation connected to the grid, and that is your utter dominance of renewables," Mr Kjaer said.
Despite Ms Kells' fears, he noted General Motors planned to build right-hand-drive versions of its new Chevrolet Volt extended-range "plug-in hybrid" car for delivery to Australia after it goes on sale in 2010. "So why on earth wouldn't they bring it to New Zealand?"
Another contender is Mitsubishi's fully electric MiEV car, which it intends to start selling in Japan next year with a range of up to 160km on a single charge of a new-generation lithium-ion battery.
Although the Volt is not purely electric, Mr Kjaer described it as the "rock star of plug-in hybrids", with a petrol motor topping up the battery once it become low.
He expected General Motors would start selling the Volt for US$35,000 to US$40,000 ($44,000 to $50,000) - about US$10,000 more than equivalent petrol cars. But electricity costs in the US were only a quarter the price of petrol, which remained cheaper than in New Zealand, so motorists here would have even more to gain.
Although New Zealand has less spare generating capacity than the US, Electricity Commission official Bruce Smith said that even if electric vehicles gained a 60 per cent market share by 2040, they would use only 15 per cent of current power demand.
Because most would be recharged overnight - in off-peak periods - they would give generators confidence to build more variable-supply windfarms and may even help to reduce electricity tariffs.
