Range anxiety is seen as a major barrier to EV adoption – how worried should you be about the country’s...

As of August 2022, New Zealand has 340
<a href="http://~/tips-and-tricks/articles/public-ev-charging-in-new-zealand">public chargers for electric vehicles</a>, according to <a href="https://www.journeys.nzta.govt.nz/ev-chargers">the NZTA’s helpful map</a>,
up from just 20 at the end of 2016. Across Aotearoa, there’s at least one
charging station every 75 kilometres of state highway almost everywhere (you
can see the exceptions on the NZTA map). 

That compares very well to some nations –
for instance, there are 10 European nations with fewer than one charger per
100km, according to <a href="https://assets.ey.com/content/dam/ey-sites/ey-com/en_gl/topics/power-and-utilities/power-and-utilities-pdf/power-sector-accelerating-e-mobility-2022-ey-and-eurelectric-report.pdf">an
EY report</a>. Australia’s network was <a href="https://www.news.com.au/technology/innovation/motoring/australia-is-the-worstequipped-nation-for-electric-cars-and-we-lag-a-decade-behind-the-world/news-story/9c8cfbbf9275c5a067180eb0a4ce5e0f">rated
one of the world’s worst</a> a few years ago, with more recent reports noting
that <a href="https://thedriven.io/2022/03/28/why-are-so-many-ev-charging-stations-out-of-order-are-they-reliable/">stations
are often out of order</a>. Maintenance of the US charging infrastructure also <a href="https://www.wired.com/story/ev-charger-broken-us-electric-cars/">seems to
be a problem</a>. 

Right now, our electric vehicle (EV)
charging network is getting a solid pass. But with sales of pure battery EVs up
345 percent in 2021 compared to 2020, will it be able to keep up? 

“We’re seeing significant increases in use,
with bumps on public holidays and in the school holidays,” says Martin Miles,
COO of <a href="https://charge.net.nz/map/">ChargeNet</a>, which is responsible
for more than <a href="https://charge.net.nz/map/">280 charging stations across
the country</a>. He says queues at charging stations are more common than they
used to be as New Zealand reaches a tipping point in EV ownership. 

“The trend line shows usage is doubling
every year. Currently EVs have around one percent market penetration – and as
that goes up, we’ll need more infrastructure in the ground to meet the demand.
We’re planning to increase the power availability, provide more carparks and
chargers at each site, and deliver better customer service.” 

That’s
an expensive exercise, but with governments across the world committed to
phasing out internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles, support should be
assured. At COP26, New Zealand was one of 28 nations that committed to <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/cop26-declaration-zero-emission-cars-and-vans/cop26-declaration-on-accelerating-the-transition-to-100-zero-emission-cars-and-vans">a
declaration</a> banning the sale of ICE cars and vans by 2040 or earlier. We
also agreed to “make zero emission vehicles the new normal by making them
accessible, affordable and sustainable in all regions by 2030.” Essentially,
the Government has promised to make sure our infrastructure keeps up with
demand, which will mean major investment in the EV charging network over the
next few years.





Expanding existing networks, plus new players
in the market

Both existing and new providers are in the
process of adding more stations to the national network. 

Most providers are focusing on fast
chargers, so these will gradually make up a larger proportion of our network,
which will save you time when you charge. Currently you can find a range of <a href="https://www.nzta.govt.nz/planning-and-investment/planning/transport-planning/planning-for-electric-vehicles/national-guidance-for-public-electric-vehicle-charging-infrastructure/using-public-charging-infrastructure/charging-an-electric-vehicle/">different
charging speeds</a>; after charging for 30 minutes, you might get between 40km
and 170km of range, depending on your car’s battery size and the type of charger.


ChargeNet
has committed to installing an additional 400 charging points over the next
three years, at varying capabilities up to a maximum of 300kW, which will
provide ‘hyper-rapid’ charging. There are other new players coming to market,
and quite a few retailers have ‘charge as you shop’ options – these are growing
steadily,&nbsp;though not rapidly. Some of New Zealand’s existing chargers are completely free while others require payment of up to $10 per 100km of charge. 

How worried should you be about finding
somewhere to charge? 

It’s important to note that the best way to
charge your vehicle is overnight at home, not only because it’s convenient and
cost-effective, but also because it smooths out demand on the national grid,
which reduces load and cuts our reliance on fossil fuels.

“Unlike
a petrol car, where you do 100 percent of your filling up at gas station, with
an EV you’ll usually do 80% of your charging at home – and most of us have off-street
parking,” says Martin. “That means the public charging infrastructure only
needs to deliver 15 to 20 percent of overall charging. Then you can travel
around the country and publicly charge when you need to.”

You might be concerned that an EV out of
the question if you can’t charge at home. People who live in apartments, for
instance, or who have no off-street parking, may need to think carefully before
buying a battery electric vehicle. However, Martin points out that both the
ChargeNet and Genesis offices are part of an increasing trend toward providing
EV charging in workplaces, which can provide a reliable alternative for those
who can’t charge at home. &nbsp;&nbsp;

“We have two employees who live in the inner
city, drive EVs, and use public charging for 100 percent of their requirements
because we have it at the office,” says Martin. “Ultimately, if you have a
charging option at home, at the office and on the public network, you can have comfort
that you’ll always be close to a charger. It’s rare to hear of people running
out of charge and being stuck, and in those rare circumstances, the AA now
offers <a href="https://www.driven.co.nz/news/aa-brings-its-mobile-ev-charging-breakdown-vans-to-auckland/">a
mobile EV battery service</a> where they’ll charge your battery sufficient to
get you to the nearest charging station or home. 

“Range
anxiety should largely be gone for consumers now.”

Range anxiety is seen as a major barrier to EV adoption – how worried should you be about the country’s charging network?

By Amy Hamilton-Chadwick 

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