New Zealand may be a small country, but its people are well-known for their ‘Kiwi ingenuity’ – an inventive and passionate spirit that has seen the creation of iconic products such as Bungee Jumping, Hobbiton and Hamilton Jet.
And now, with your help, it will soon be known as the country that revolutionised the future of commercial electric transport.
Introducing E KiwiGoa, a fully electric car capable of driving up to 250km (or approx. 150 miles for our American friends!) on one battery charge.
E KiwiGoa provides an all-electric solution to short-term, sustainable transport. It has been created and manufactured solely in New Zealand by myself – inventor and farmer/engineer Mike McMaster – and my family, wife Gayle and our four daughters.
It all started with our first creation KiwiGoa, a three-wheeled, motorised vehicle that was inspired by the tuk-tuk and its use in urban places. We saw a need for short-haul transport in our own country, and so KiwiGoa was born and designed with a distinctly Kiwi flavour, thanks to the chassis design resembling our nation’s iconic bird.
For the past two years, we have moved more than 150,000 people to and from Auckland International and Domestic Airports. Those who have taken a seat in this comfortable cruiser love the experience, which is why we believe we could provide a whole transport solution and fill in the ‘short mile transport gap’.
Unlike our nation’s flightless bird, we want our invention to take flight and help provide a sustainable option on roads around the world.
That’s why we’re going electric. We have a responsibility to our grandchildren and their children that whatever we do in business must be long-term sustainable and provide a solution to an environmental problem… not create one.
Our new E KiwiGoa model will be a four-wheeled all-electric version of the KiwiGoa. Safety is paramount, which is why we will build the chassis from solid steel and include safety features you’d find in a modern car (such as ABS braking and stability control).
Plus, with the look and function of any typical rental car on the inside, these e-vehicles can be operated easily and safely by anyone with a valid driver’s licence.
The future for the E KiwiGoa is endless – as well as airport short-haul transport, it could be available for hire outside hotels and restaurants at information booths or designated hire kiosks around any city in the world.
We want to help make a change for the better and we believe E KiwiGoa is the beginning of something that will make a real difference – but we need your help to make our dream a reality.
We know this will work and we know the impact it can have for good. Through developing KiwiGoa, which included meeting all road safety requirements in our country, we have built a solid team around us of mechanics, battery specialists, electrical engineers, panel beaters, fiberglass fabricators, upholstery designers, and seat manufacturers. It’s tried and tested, and we’re ready to take it to the next level.
With Kickstarter, we can raise enough money to build our first E KiwiGoa and, together, we take one step closer to protecting our planet.
And, as a thank you and acknowledgment of everyone that is helping make our planet a better place, we will put your name on our first-ever E KiwiGoa.
Let’s make a change together!
We have been in business long enough to know that with even the best-laid plans we will come upon challenges. The following are some of the risks and challenges considered. Can we fit everything electronically into the current size and shape? Because we are building our own chassis and bodies we can make adjustments and alterations before we begin to build, thanks to the help of Devise Mechanical Design and 3D scanning. We will be keeping in mind we want to maintain the look and feel of the current vehicle. Will the car be able to operate the current hours the petrol ones do now and travel the kilometres required each day? The electrical solution for us has to be flexible so that we can achieve our current performance. Much of this information cannot be answered until our design is patented. In our discussions we have had with battery suppliers they are confident we can obtain similar performance from our ICE cars. Is six months window realistic to get your first E KiwiGoa on the road? Once the design and the IP have been patented and protected, more of the information around the design can be shared and further possible challenges identified. The biggest challenge will be the restrictions of time around compliance and certification process with NZTA and LVVTA. The availability of an electrical certifier has become more restricted as they continue to be in high demand as New Zealander’s modify existing vehicles into electric vehicles and requiring more regulatory compliance.
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E-Kiwigoa is will be designed and built to the high New Zealand compliance conditions. And we have had the ICE Kiwigoa on the road moving over 150,000 people so we have been able to test each component to know what adjustments to make in the electric version to ensure it will stand up to the daily challenges of commercial transportation. The entire concept of moving to an electric engine is to reduce our carbon footprint. With our grandchildren and their potential children as our legacy we want to do our bit to reduce our footprint on this planet. Moving visitors and locals alike in a more sustainable way aboard our E-Kiwigoa is our contribution to the future.