The Auckland Council in New Zealand is switching on to electric vehicles (EVs), substituting 10 of its petrol vehicles with two all-electric Nissan Leafs and eight Toyota Prius hybrids.
If everything works as planned, the civic body will replace two to three petrol cars a year with electric variants, resulting in 40% of its fleet embracing the new avatars within 20 years.
Mayor of Auckland Len Brown told Stuff.co.nz: "We've been trying to get electric cars through the fleet procurement team for a number of years... To be fair the price of electric vehicles (EVs) has plummeted, it's made it much more realistic.
"We're now at a point where EVs have the technology and pricing and public sentiment to become a serious option...It's only going one way."
Chief sustainability officer John Mauro nixed "range anxiety" about electric cars as the battery sustains 135kms, saying the cost of EV had become similar to standard cars.
For instance, the council had to shell out $24,390 for owning petrol-powered Hyundai 130, as against $24,924 for an electric Leaf.
Currently, 695 electric vehicles are on road in New Zealand.
