When Akaroa’s 18-year-old Joseph O’Malley signed up to the AA, he didn’t realise he had just tipped its Membership count to 1.5 million.

AA Membership and Brand General Manager Dougal Swift says it’s a massive milestone for an organisation that has been part of New Zealand’s driving culture for more than 110 years and represents 44% of all licensed drivers in New Zealand.

“In 2003 the AA reached 1 million Members, exactly 100 years after the club was first established. We’ve now added another half a million Members in just 12 years,” says Mr Swift.

New AA Membership benefits, which include three free driving lessons for learner drivers as part of the AA Ignition programme, discounts at EVENT Cinemas, AA Smartfuel savings and free Specsavers eye-exams has seen the Member-based organisation enjoy several years of exceptional growth.

“Youth Membership is at an all-time high and is our fastest growing age bracket. We’re also seeing Membership numbers for 18 to 30-year-olds steadily increase, ensuring the AA continues to be a relevant and meaningful organisation to New Zealanders.”

For Joseph, his reasons for signing up hail back to what the AA is most well-known for – its roadside assistance, which receives almost half a million callouts every year.

“Mum said it would be a good idea, especially living in the country – you never know when you might be stranded on the side of the road,” he says.

As the 1.5 millionth AA Member, Joseph will receive the ultimate AA experience with a free Gold Service at his nearest AA Auto Centre, free EVENT Cinemas tickets in association with Academy Gold Cinema, an upgrade to AA Plus – the AA’s premium Membership, a goodie bag of emergency essentials and 50 litres of free fuel courtesy of AA Smartfuel.

To mark the occasion the AA is also giving away an AA Smartfuel bonus of 50 cents per litre off fuel for everyone who becomes an AA Member today.

Since the launch of AA Smartfuel four years ago cardholders have earned $242 million in fuel savings.

Mr Swift says 2016 will see more benefits added to AA Membership.

“We’re in the process of developing some new benefits for Members that we will be launching next year,” he says.

By the numbers:

• More than 350,000 free eye exams at Specsavers for AA Members since 2012 which equals more than $21 million in savings
• $242 million in fuel savings earned by cardholders since the launch of AA Smartfuel four years ago
• More than 1.5 million total Members, including vehicle based Membership of 538,662 and Personal Memberships of 964,241
• AA Members represent approximately 44% of New Zealand licensed drivers.