Electric Vehicles, or EVs, don’t have the most impressive adoption rate in Australia. Expensive models, Luxury Car Tax and a distinct lack of government incentives doesn’t exactly encourage people. But hope isn’t completely lost. The NRMA is rolling out 20 new fast-chargers across rural NSW.
The NRMA already has 39 fast chargers across the state. The new chargers will bring the network up to 59. The new chargers focus on pushing further west into the state, as well as connecting some existing paths. The chargers will now reach all the way out to Broken Hill.
The stations contain both CCS2 and CHAdeMO chargers. The NRMA has stated that most EVs should take about 30 minutes to get to 80 per cent charge — however this will vary from vehicle to vehicle. It’s worth noting that the last 20 per cent will take longer due to the way EV batteries work. They tend to slow down in order to protect from battery deterioration.
At the present time anyone with an EV can use the NRMA fast chargers for free. However, the NRMA has stated that eventually it will only be free for members. There is no public date or word on the proposed pricing yet.
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The timing on this roll out certainly makes sense. With international travel being iced for the foreseeable future, not to mention the economic impacts of COVID-19, it stands to reason that the state governments will be doing what they can to encourage regional travel.
“The expanded regional fast-charging network will help further support the regional tourism economy and local investment in regional centres. We want to encourage people to stop off and explore our regional towns while they charge their EVs,” NSW Minister for Regional Transport and Roads, Paul Lawrence Toole, said in a statement.
“These additional charging stations are part of a $3 million co-funded investment to deliver greener and cleaner travel. This will help create the most comprehensive regional charging network in the country, opening regional NSW up to electric vehicle owners.”
If you’re looking for public charging stations around Australia sites like Plug Share are super helpful. We also have a list of every Tesla charging station in Australia here.