[kinesiologykid]

Hyundai says it will be the first automotive manufacturer to offer new electric cars for sale in any volume in New Zealand.

Hyundai said on Friday its first fully electric, plug-in version of the Getz, had been sold for delivery in November.

Retrofitting cars by removing the petrol engine and fitting batteries and an electric motor would be done in this country.

The electric Getz had a top speed of 120kmh, with a range of 120km on a single charge with a fast charge extending the range for a day's running to about 200km.

The project was a collaboration with engineer Ross Blade, who developed the Getz retro-fit electric car. He would be setting up a production facility based around a projected sales base of more than 200 vehicles a year

[jayem]

I did see such a story on "Today/Tonight" a few months back.  I can't remember how much the retrofit would be but I remember it being relatively expensive. But I guess a colab COULD mean a cheaper than current final product price because the standard petrol engines wouldn't have to be fitted in the first place.  With a "next to zero" running cost, it could be a very attractive deal.

[bikejockey]

From their web-site, the 2-door Blade retrofit is around $35,000 and the 4-door $42,000.

Lot of money for a vehicle that is only of use around town.

[kinesiologykid]

Seems expensive, I googled and found they have been making them in Victoria for a while, in small numbers.
Looks like Hyundai is helping out now.
There are quite a few from different makers on the horizon, Hybrid, Electric, Diesel hybrid, LPG Hybrid.
One of the new plug-ins claimed it cost about $1 to charge. Ball Park - that equates to about $9,000 savings over 100,000 kms.
When the price gets down to $5,000 over the petrol model then they will sell well.
This will happen with economies of scale, and when government fleets mandate them.
There is an unusual Chevvy coming out soon, the Volt, that uses petrol to charge the battery.
here is a good place to find the latest:
http://www.goauto.com.au/mellor/mellor.nsf/gafuturemodelsnav?readform&lead&start=1