WM New Zealand has reached a major sustainability milestone, surpassing 3 million kilometres driven by its electric heavy vehicle fleet—a rapid acceleration in one of the country’s most advanced commercial decarbonisation programmes.
The achievement comes just over a year after the company passed the 2‑million‑kilometre mark in late 2024, signalling what WM describes as “a rapidly increasing pace of progress” in heavy-vehicle electrification.
WM began its electric fleet programme in 2016, reaching its first million electric kilometres six years later. The second million followed in only two years, and the third in barely twelve months.
Today, WM operates 60 electric heavy vehicles nationwide, including 50 built through in‑house conversions by the company’s engineering teams—an approach that is helping build local capability and accelerate innovation.
WM’s electric fleet now includes a wide mix of operational vehicles, supporting everything from kerbside recycling to commercial collections:
One of the newest additions—a sideloader—has just arrived in Hutt City, where it will soon begin servicing recycling routes.
By switching diesel routes to electric, WM’s heavy fleet has now avoided nearly 5,600 tonnes of CO₂e—a meaningful contribution to both national emissions reduction and local air quality. What does 5,600 tonnes of CO₂e represent?
The amount of carbon that 260,000 trees absorb in a year.
Senior Project Engineer Ashley Davenport says today’s milestone reflects WM’s ongoing commitment to decarbonisation.“This afternoon, we hit 3 million kilometres in WM’s electric heavy fleet, equal to almost 5,600 tonnes of CO₂e avoided. I’m proud of what the team has achieved so far. The next few years will move even faster.”
WM credits the achievement to the dedication of its engineering and fleet operations teams, including Head of Fleet Jitesh Singh, Ash Davenport, and the company’s wider EV specialists.
WM New Zealand’s electric heavy fleet has surpassed 3 million kilometres, avoiding 5,600 tonnes of emissions and accelerating nationwide decarbonisation.
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