Are there enough chargers for NZ’s EVs?
BEV sales are up over 200 per cent year-on-year. But where will everybody plug them in?
The growth of New Zealand’s EV market has been nothing short of astonishing over the past 12 months. The latest AA Indicator shows sales for battery electric vehicles (BEVs) are up 205.8 per cent year-on-year, with sales for plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) up 404 per cent in the same period.
The boom has been accelerated by the Clean Car rebates that provide cashbacks on lowemission vehicles; demand is so high that for many models, there is a long waitlist.
With such a rapid shift toward electric vehicles, it’s leading some people to ask: do we have enough chargers to meet this growing demand? EV drivers have been concerned about recent social media comments that chargers are often out of order and there are too few available at various popular locations.
The charging network is growing fast
NZ has one big advantage over Australia — its land mass is long and thin, which makes it much easier to install chargers that can service the entire country.
Even if you don’t drive an EV, you will have noticed public chargers popping up everywhere. Unlike an at-home charger, these are available to everyone: you can plug in at petrol stations, in supermarket carparks, malls, campgrounds and other easily accessible spots.
The network is also growing: ChargeNet has 266 charge points, including 22 installed in 2021, with an additional 60 under development. The Warehouse is expanding its network of free chargers, while Australian provider Jolt is coming to the market with plans for 500 new chargers over the next four years.
Charge at home, plan your journey
Most new BEVs will travel for at least 300km on a single charge, and the best place to charge is at home. The batteries found in BEVs and PHEVs are designed to be trickle-charged and your home charger is the ideal way to do it, especially late at night when the load on the grid is the lowest.
Before you take a long trip, charge your car fully at home, then plan where to plug in when you’re out and about — ideally just enough to get to your destination, rather than filling to 100 per cent every time. Try the Waka Kotahi EV Journey Planner, which currently lists more than 330 EV charging stations, or the AA Time & Distance Calculator, which also lists plug-in points.
GenLess recommends you check the manufacturer’s advice for your EV — frequent fast charging can decrease battery capacity on some models, and in hot weather you should try to charge in the shade.
Better batteries, BEV infrastructure
As the growth of the BEV market continues, engineers and scientists keep coming up with innovations that remove barriers to adoption. Battery innovation is improving all the time as businesses race to develop longer-lasting, faster-charging lithium-ion batteries. There are also alternative innovations, like EV lanes on motorways that charge your car as you drive. These are being tested in the US and UK; experts at the University of Auckland are also leading a local project.
The Government is highly motivated to create better infrastructure for EVs to achieve its climate change targets and businesses all over the world are working to come up with new ways to grab a slice of this fast-growing market. So if you’ve been wondering about going electric, don’t let anxiety about the charging network capacity stop you from buying a BEV or PHEV.
In 2020, AA Battery Service also introduced a mobile EV charge service in Wellington to support AA Members who have been “caught short” on their journeys with an EV.