EVs flying out of car yard like ‘toilet paper in Covid
Wednesday, 25 March 2026
Sales of electric vehicles in Nelson following fuel price hikes have been “next level”, a car dealership director says, while a charity that restores and re-homes bikes can’t keep up with demand.
Car Company Limited / BYD Nelson general manager Ben Brownie said the uptick in EV purchases would be “the same as buying toilet paper in Covid times”.
“I’ve never seen anything like it before in my life,” Brownie told the Nelson Mail.
“People that weren’t even thinking about or needing to buy a car or replace a car, are actually buying an electric vehicle or a plug-in hybrid or a hybrid, purely because they're worried about the fuel crisis, the uncertainty about how much fuel is actually available, but also the fact that it's going to keep increasing in price.”
Over the last few weeks, sales of the Chinese-made BYD brand were about 10 to 15 a week, compared to a typical two to three per week.
The dealership’s two BYD salespeople were constantly doing sales and test drives, and the increase in trade had been “next level”.
Most of the buyers were retirees, but younger people were also expressing interest.
Brownie said having 10 Chinese brands enter the market had brought the price down for everybody, with EV models starting at around $30,000.
Bike Hub coordinator Rachael Gray said things had “gone pretty crazy” at the charity that restores and re-homes bikes in exchange for a donation.
At present, they could not keep up with demand. Customers told them that because of the fuel crisis, they couldn’t afford to run their cars so were looking to get bikes from the hub as a means of transport.
Several families last week were looking for bicycles for their whole family because they couldn’t get their kids to school, Gray said.
“That was a real stressor for them.”
They were also receiving enquiries about trailers to carry kids to kindergarten, and about pannier bags and bicycle racks to carry groceries.
On Monday, the service had a queue of 65 people, but was currently “maxing out” what it could provide, at about 40 bikes per week. Volunteer mechanics were putting in extra hours when they could, Gray said.
The hub is currently short of bikes for children aged between about eight and 12, and of step-through bicycles with a lower frame.
They were also looking for donations of good quality bikes that didn’t need a lot of work as the less work the bicycles needed, the quicker they could be turned around. They also sought bike mechanics with a reasonable level of experience.
The Bike Station co-owner Brendon Mathews had yet to see an uptick in sales, but said the store’s workshops were at record levels as people rode more than ever before, prompting them to take on extra staff as a result.
“It's going to be interesting to see how people's behaviour changes, but I think a lot of people are pretty pragmatic and will probably dust a few bikes off like during Covid and get them out of the shed. It’s less about having spare time and more about practicality,” Mathews said.
“Let's get that bike going. Bikes are the solution, not bombs.”