An electric car sharing company is setting its sights on Auckland, having successfully launched in Christchurch earlier this year with the help of a council-run scheme.
In February, Yoogo Share launched the Southern Hemisphere's largest car sharing service in Christchurch.
The Christchurch City Council-led initiative saw 12 key businesses with 3000 drivers ditch 115 cars from their fleets.
"We've put in 100 pure electric vehicles (EVs) and 100 chargers in eight different locations around the city," Yoogo Share general manager Kirsten Corson told 1 NEWS.
"It's an easy way for businesses to improve their carbon footprint."
Along with businesses, Yoogo Share is encouraging Cantabrians to ditch their combustion vehicles to share electric cars with others.
Private users can sign up to Yoogo Share online and book an EV, rates are based on the minute, hour or day, whatever works out to be cheapest.
They can then pick up a car at one of the hubs, and when finished simply drop it back to the hub and plug it in to charge.
"We've even had private users register from the States, that when they're coming down to New Zealand and flying into Christchurch they pick up our cars and use them," said Ms Corson.
Others users signed up just to see what it is like to drive and EV.
"They'll say, look we just want to book it for 15 minutes because we've never driven an electric vehicle before."
But Ms Corson understands it might take private users some time before masses of people decide to replace their car with the sharing model.
"Intrinsically Kiwis have a psyche to own, I often joke, it will take a long time for Kiwis to give up driving their Ford Rangers and having their own car."
The "early adopters" who have taken on the car sharing trend have amazed the company, says Ms Corson.
"Some of those have been parents with children, where they no longer have a car in the family, so they’ll be booking a car on Saturday morning to take their child to sport."
The company is hoping other councils will adopt the strategy, and have already begun talks with some.
Auckland is likely the next city Yoogo Share will launch in, but it's "a bit of a secret at the moment".
Ms Corson did tell 1 NEWS, "We're working on it, with some hubs in the CBD and also out in the airport, so Auckland and then in time we'd like to be in Wellington and also the regions."
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