He made it on to Campbell Live back in 2014 when he imported a Tango 600 into the country to try and drum up interest in mass producing the US-designed micro-EV in New Zealand.

It’s a very narrow, very fast micro-EV which made headlines around the world when actor George Clooney bought one in 2005.

In 2018 Greening launched a PledgeMe campaign seeking half a million dollars to fund the setting up of a micro-car leasing programme. Just $2000 was pledged.

The problem – or, one of the problems – was that the Tango isn’t road legal in New Zealand.

Toa Greening is hopeful that’s about to change. Transport minister Michael Wood is in Norway attending an EV conference and Waka Kotahi has launched an innovation fund “looking for innovative answers to big transport challenges.”

Greening is convinced the Tango 600 ticks off the biggest two challenges facing transport in the 21^st century: congestion and emission.

If you’re wondering how any car can help reduce congestion the answer, according to Greening, is in the Tango 600’s width. It’s narrow enough that, in theory at least, you could fit two side-by-side in a single lane.

The micro-EVs taking the world by storm

The world’s biggest selling EV isn’t available in New Zealand. The Wuling Hongguang Mini EV – jointly developed with car giant GM - sells for between US$4000 and US$6000.

The Wuling Hongguang Mini E

If it was available in Aotearoa and attracted the clean car discount you could pick one up for less than the price of an e-bike or possibly even for free.

So, what do you get for that bargain-basement price? A four-seater car with a top speed of 100km/h and a range of 120Km.

The Chinese version of the Wuling probably wouldn’t meet NZ safety standards but a version being sold in Europe almost certainly would. The FreZe Nikrob EV has a starting price of 9,999 Euros and a range of 200km.

Surprisingly when it comes to Micro EVs there are cheaper options on offer in Europe.

The Citroen AMI sells for under 6000 Euros. It’s a remarkable car that we’ll hear more about tomorrow in a story from Paris-based Kiwi journalist Gregor Thompson.

 The Citroen AMI

The AMI appears to be the first of what promises to be a new category of EVs in Europe.

The very funky, BMW Isetta-inspired Microlino goes into production in Switzeraland in the coming months.

Legally it’s a quadricycle rather than a car but in terms of urban transportation it provides all the benefits of a car for a fraction of the price.

 The Microlino with front opening door

The AMI and Microlino are coming from the challenge of micro-EVs from an entirely different angle to the pioneering Tango 600.

The Tango 600 – like Elon Musk’s Tesla – aimed to attract sceptical car drivers over to EVs with the promise of high speed and high-performance vehicles that could hold their own against the high-end ICE competition.

With a top speed of more than 240km/h the Tango 600 is more an enclosed superbike than a shopping trolley on wheels.

But with a top speed limit in New Zealand of 110km/h there’s really no need for that sort of performance and with the bulk of trips being in urban there’s surely a place for fully enclosed, micro-EVs.

 Nimbus 

The recently announced NIMBUS is possibly an acknowledgement that even in the US there’s a market for small urban EVs.

Golf carts have long been used as a car alternative for short journeys in the gated communities of America. Now fully enclosed versions are migrating out to its congensted city streets.

 The Quantum

And lithium superpower, Bolivia has its own microcar. The Quantum sells for about $US6000 and is challenging the country’s addiction to double cab utes.

The regulatory road blocks

None of the micro-EVs mentioned so far would be legal on New Zealand roads.

A spokesperson for Waka Kotahi told Carbon News that the cars would all be classed as quadricycles – “which generally don’t comply with New Zealand’s Frontal Impact Rule.

The 2002 rule is one that Toa Greening is very familiar with and one he thinks is long over-due for an update.

He says there needs to be new classification for fully enclosed three to four wheel, one and two passenger micro-cars.

Micro-EVs could be a second car replacement for many families. Perfect for trips to the supermarket, work and school drop offs, Greening says.

“There should be no limits on weight or speed and therefore should be a similar classification to a motorcycle but differentiated to a full-sized passenger vehicle so that all other microCAR makes and models are allowed on our roads.”

It’s a move, Greening estimates would cut Auckland’s C02 emissions by two million tonnes a year.

More articles in the Carbon News E-volution of the microcar series:

Citroen Ami punches above its weight

The microcars already on our roads

Micro EV regulations to be reviewed… sometime

First published 13 June, 2022)