Running costs
What a Dairy Farm Saves Going Electric
The sticker prices are close. Over a few seasons of dairy running, the gap is not. Here is where the money goes.
The short version
A dairy bike runs short distances every day and gets hammered by the wash-down. Electric cuts the fuel to about a dollar a charge and removes the chains, clutches, oil and filters entirely. Over five years that is real money, and more again off your own solar.
Dairy is where an electric farm bike pays back fastest, because of how a dairy bike is used: short runs, many times a day, every day.
That usage pattern is expensive on petrol and cheap on electric. Here is the breakdown.
Fuel: about a dollar, not a tank
A full charge is roughly 3.5 kWh, about a dollar at typical rural rates, for a day or more of running. There is no petrol to buy, cart or store in the shed. Over a year of daily dairy use, the fuel line alone is a fraction of a petrol bike's.
Servicing: the bigger saving
The fuel is not even the main saving. A petrol bike needs chain adjustment and replacement, sprockets, clutch plates, oil, filters and plugs, year after year. None of that exists on a good electric bike, because there is no chain, gearbox, clutch or engine oil. The full picture is in what a Galvbike costs to run.
Off your solar, close to free
Most dairy farms already have solar. A farm bike uses roughly 400 to 800 kWh a year, around one to two per cent of a typical dairy array's output. Charge it in the middle of the day and you are running it on power you would otherwise export cheaply.
The one nobody budgets for
The cost that never shows up in a comparison is the day the bike does not start. During calving, a petrol bike that will not fire at 4am in the wet costs far more than a set of tyres. An electric one simply goes.
Commonly asked
How much does a dairy farm save switching to an electric bike?
Most of the saving is servicing, not fuel: no chains, clutches, oil or filters, year after year. Fuel drops to about a dollar a charge, and off solar it is close to free.
Can I charge a farm bike off my dairy solar?
Yes. A bike uses only around one to two per cent of a typical dairy array's annual output. Charging in the middle of the day turns exported power into fuel.
Is electric cheaper than petrol over five years?
Substantially, and the gap widens each year. The recurring petrol service items are the main reason, more than the fuel itself.
Pre-orders open
Ready to put one to work?
Built for New Zealand farms, delivered anywhere in the country.
- $7,790+ GST
- 3 yearsWarranty
- 200 kgPayload
- 80 kmRange
First batch sold out. Taking pre-orders for December 2026 delivery.