More car enthusiasts in New Zealand will soon be driving the latest Tesla Model 3.
The American electric car company announced the car model’s availability in additional countries, including New Zealand, in 2017.
With USD 35,000 as the starting price, the Tesla Model 3 could be a good choice for my next car, which I plan to replace in a couple of years.
The Tesla Model 3 can carry five adults and is advertised as being able to cover 215 miles (346 kilometres) per charge.
A perfect car to consider if you want to have remarkable savings on petrol cost and other related expenses plus the impact on the environment.
While the proliferation of electric vehicles (EVs) like the Tesla Model 3 presents significant advantages, a possible issue will also emerge from an infrastructure management point of view.
As probably most of you know, New Zealand allocates one per cent of GDP for transport infrastructure every year. Half of the New Zealand National Land Transport Fund is derived from petrol tax funds.
In the years to come, as more fuel-efficient and/or electric vehicles use our road network, the decrease of funds from fuel tax will be unavoidable.
The popularity of the Tesla Model 3 and similar EVs in 2017 and beyond would seemingly hasten these potential funds decrease issues.
The good thing is that New Zealand has already examined the possible impacts of these changes in many research reports.
These include the Future Funding Summary Report supplemented with a review of international transportation planning and funding frameworks.
New Zealand has already instituted an alternative road use taxation system, the distance-travelled-based Road User fee currently implemented.
Having alternatives to volumetric fuel tax will enable our authorities to transition well into a new transportation network revenue and funding system when required.
According to the International Review, countries with federal structures like the USA and Germany will find it harder to change their funding mechanisms.
As more alternative-fueled vehicles, including EVs, are added to OECD transportation fleets, infrastructure asset management practitioners should not ignore the implications of the infrastructure management analysis.
On the one hand, generating tax revenue and funding changes take time and a lot of public consultation and political deliberation, especially in federal countries.
On the other hand, failure to cope with the funding demands of developments in transportation networks also has long-term effects.
Transportation asset management leaders should consider the need to be involved in the evaluation and discussion around transport network funding and the possible effect on the budget that changes and innovation in the motor vehicle industry may bring.
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