Can you really charge all around NZ in an EV?

Wednesday, 30 January 2019

Pure-EVs are a small part of NZ's electrified vehicle fleet - but there's still a lot of choice.

The latest round of the Government's Low Emission Vehicles Contestable Fund has once again thrown the spotlight on New Zealand's charging infrastructure.

The fund, which provides up to $7 million per year to contribute up to half of project costs to promote the uptake of Electric Vehicles (EVs), named Ngai Tahu Tourism as one of its recipients.

Partnering with ChargeNet, Ngai Tahu will install DC fast chargers at key tourist spots including Franz Josef Glacier, Queenstown and Glenorchy.

Good infrastructure is seen as essential to the promotion of EV sales and use in NZ, especially for those nervous about making the switch but keen to do so in the face of enviornmental issues like climate change.

Modern EVs need not be confined to the city - even in a young-infrastructure country like NZ.

* Auckland to Wellington in an EV… in one day

* Every EV you can buy in NZ - lowest price to highest

A modern EV like the Hyundai Ioniq (NZ's best-selling pure-electric) can do 200km between charges.

* A plug for the pleasure of EVs in 2019**

But as we stand right now, today, is it possible to drive around the country in an EV without drama - not just on the main roads, but wherever you might want to go?

Big road trips are very do-able in a modern. We've done them.

We're talking about a plug-in that can do 200km on a charge, which is pretty do-able for a modern EV like the BMW i3, Hyundai Ioniq or Volkswagen e-Golf.

Many older EVs (OK, used-import Nissan Leafs) won't have that kind of range, but let's not scupper the project from the start. Remember, we're talking about getting more EVs on the road in the future and we want the most modern, as they'll be the ones that have the longest life as used cars further down the track (assuming the track has a charge station at the end of it).

PlugShare's map of NZ. We're pretty well covered.

Anyway, that 200km-range road-trip question: the answers are definitely yes… and sort of yes.

Asking how many charge stations there are in NZ and where is a bit like asking how long a piece of string is. You can charge an EV anywhere there's electricity.

DC fast-charge stations will get an EV up to 80 per cent power in less than half an hour.

The PlugShare website lists 555 individual charging points in NZ, covering virtually the entire country.

But that list includes everything from the fastest DC stations to caravan plugs at out-of-the-way camping grounds.

Hopefully, charging infrastructure will grow and keep pace with EV uptake.

So that 'definitely yes' applies to those EV early adopters who are determined and happy to make road trips an adventure. Those people who have the right (and tested, safe) cables to charge at at a camping ground and are happy to go and have many, many cups of tea or do a bushwalk while their car charges; the 16 amp points at a camping ground (household power is 10 amp in NZ) will charge an EV in 4-8 hours, depending on the model.

For the rest of us who don't want to make trips more about the car than the destination, a better question is how extensive the network of fast chargers is. Because they allow you to power up an EV to around 80 per cent in less than half an hour and that seems a reasonable compromise between practicality and saving the planet.

Again, there are many providers, but undoubtedly ChargeNet (which is also in partnership with BMW NZ for its main network) has provided the spine of our country's EV infrastructure.

It has over 100 stations nationwide (expansion is ongoing) and if you're sticking to the main highways, you can absolutely drive all over NZ in a modern EV (and maybe even one that's not so modern if you're brave). The company aims to prove that point every year with its toe-to-tip Leading the Charge EV rally.

The holes in the network are relatively few.

The furthest north is Pukenui, just 60km from Cape Reinga. South it's Invercargill, and even if you want to go to the more desolate-looking (charger-wise we mean) places on the map, Tuatapere is achievable as a return trip (160km); even though there's no DC facility in Manapouri or Te Anau, it's a maximum 160km round trip from the nearest station in Lumsden.

So where would a normal motorist dare not go in a EV? Te Kuiti to New Plymouth (170km) would have you in Eco mode and a spin around East Cape (160km/170km each side from the station in Te Araroa) would be a bit nerve-wracking. Hawera to Palmerston North is 160km. But it's all possible.

The biggest gaps are on the West Coast of the South Island. If you've got a hankering to drive from Christchurch to Hokitika or Greymouth over Arthur's Pass (who wouldn't?), you're going to need an EV with a big range (Hyundai Kona Electric, any kind of Tesla) because it's 230km but you have to conquer the Alps. What charge you lose going up, you don't gain coming down; only about a third of it.

Even more of a challenge is Hokitika to Wanaka: 420km and not a DC charger in sight.

Although Franz Josef Glacier, the proposed site of Ngai Tahu's new ChargeNet station, will splice that trip into 135km/285km increments. Bit of a stretch on the last bit, but who knows?

Point is, we're almost there with the bare bones and the network will hopefully flesh out to meet whatever increase in national EV fleet we experience.