Punters flock to GreenZone III

Almost 300 members of the public drove 22 new low- and zero-emission models from seven manufacturers at the latest GreenZone Drive event on the Gold Coast at the weekend.

Designed to promote public awareness of environmentally friendly vehicles, the three-day event concluded yesterday at the RACV Royal Pines Resort.

The third GreenZone Drive, following similarly successful events in Adelaide last October and the inaugural event in Melbourne last August, was sponsored jointly by the RACQ and RACV.

Attracting most interest was the BMW ActiveHybrid 5, which will be launched as the German brand’s first hybrid model in Australian in October, and Renault’s all-electric Fluence ZE, which goes on sale here in December.

Both models made their Australian public debut at the event, which was hailed as a success by organisers and also offered individuals a brief taste behind the wheel of Nissan Australia’s first EV, the LEAF, as well as a selection of Toyota and Honda hybrids and super-efficient diesel and petrol-engined cars from Audi and Volvo.

“The GreenZone Drive has once again proven to be a successful way to give drivers the opportunity to test some of the newest automotive technology devoted to reducing fuel consumption and emissions,” said NRMA Manager of Environmental Programs, Simon Mikedis.

“Many of the testers confirmed that they were extremely keen to make a change to a low emission car in the future. Having undertaken a test drive they are now far better able to make a considered decision for their next new vehicle.

“Several testers said they were pleased to see a wide range of different models now available that dramatically reduce CO2 emissions, and the dedicated electric vehicles from Renault and Nissan were among the busiest vehicles on test throughout the weekend.

“The new BMW ActiveHybrid 5 also demonstrated that a large executive car can also deliver impressive fuel consumption and low emissions with no loss of performance or driver enjoyment.”

RACQ Sustainable Transport Manager, Genevieve Graves, said a fleet briefing on the final day of the event invited industry experts to explore detailed ownership issues surrounding EVs and low-emission vehicles.

“The aim was to familiarise them with the benefits of these vehicles as well as to understand what impact they may have for fleet management in the future,” she said.

“The GreenZone Drive event clearly shows that low-emission vehicles are destined to be a growing part of the automotive landscape.

“It was good to see that many of the people who attended the event were clued up on the technology already and were keen to see how the vehicles performed. We are very happy to have been able to hold the event and promote low-emission alternatives.”

Director of the Low Emission Vehicle Automotive Partnership, Henry O’Clery, chaired the industry forum and welcomed a positive exchange of views between industry participants and fleet operators.

“As we move towards a lower-emission future, fleet managers will play a crucial role in promoting the acceptance of these vehicles in Australia,” he said.

“While we will follow Europe’s lead in adopting this technology we all need to understand the specific Australian conditions in which these vehicles will be working, both from a day-to-day driving perspective and an economic one.”

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