An electric vehicle is now being used by the Wattle Range Council chief executive and Ben Gower says it drives in a “beautiful” fashion.
Mr Gower is provided with a vehicle as part of his salary package and he took delivery of the new Kia EV6 on Tuesday from a Mount Gambier dealer.
Since taking up the position in 2016, Mr Gower has used a vehicle powered by conventional means.
Consideration was given to him being allocated an electric variety when it was next due to be changed over.
The suggestion from council’s Climate Change sub-committee was backed by the council last year and provision was made in the annual budget.
At the time, Mr Gower said there was the potential for him to use an electric vehicle as a pilot and this would assist council with its decision-making over other fleet vehicles in the future.
He said electric vehicles had lower maintenance costs but there were long lead lines to secure one.
Mr Gower said he picked the Kia vehicle as it was able to be repaired locally and was the best option available.
The order for the Kia EV6 was placed eight months ago.
“It cost $70,000 and this is about the same as the Prado that I have been driving,” Mr Gower said.
“There have been long wait times for Prados as well.
“I drove 160,000km in the Prado over the past four years with 75% on work duties and 25% on private use.
“My new vehicle is a tier three Kia and it has extra batteries which give it a range of 550km.
“I opted for a practical model rather than a glamorous model.
“I will be using green energy to charge it and it is generated from the solar panels on the roof of the Millicent War Memorial Civic and Arts Centre.
“This will cost council about $20 while using a commercial charging station would cost about $50.
“Re-filling the Prado with fuel would currently cost around $300 but this would give a greater range than 550km.
“We are still working on the figures.”
According to Mr Gower, there are various government incentives to encourage the use of electric vehicles.
He said these relate to Fringe Benefits Tax as well as discounts on registration fees.
“If council proceeds with the new office, there will be a charging station installed using green energy, he said.
“We have been awarded an RAA grant for a charging station at the Beachport Visitor Information Centre and we are waiting for this to be finalised.”
