What you need to know about buying an EV in New Zealand

Tuesday, 16 April 2019

Not every EV uses the same kind of plug - here are the main ones in New Zealand.

Whether you are thinking about buying an electric vehicle to save on fuel costs, do your part to help save the planet or just want a more silent science-fictiony cool way to travel around, there are increasing options out there in the new and used market.

Everything from a used import Nissan Leaf all that way up to a fully-loaded $200,000 Tesla Model X is currently available in New Zealand, with more coming all the time, particularly in that Model X price range, but more affordable EVs are coming too.

But you may well find yourself faced with a dense and bewildering array of new concepts, acronyms and phrases - BEV? PHEV? EREV? What are those? Do some EVs also have petrol engines? Are they even still really EVs if they do?

Type 1? Type 2? CHAdeMO? Are there really different plugs? What does it all mean?

* In the future, EVs will charge the electricity grid

* What happens to EV batteries when they're worn out?**

You might want an EV, but would one really suit your motoring needs? That is the first - and most important - question.

Our EV buyer's guide will help you cut through all that and decide if an EV is actually right for you.

Is an EV actually right for me?

Like all cars, this is the first question you should ask yourself, regardless of how much you actually want an EV.

Do you do a lot of open road motoring? Lots of trips up and down the length of the country? Then an EV probably realistically isn't for you just yet. While ranges have increased drastically, charging times - even super-fast ones - still take far longer than simply pumping a tank of gas, making an EV less than ideal for someone doing lots of kilometres without the time to wait around charging.

Does it actually suit your lifestyle? Do you live in the country and will you only be able to charge it at home? Likewise, an EV may not be the best vehicle for you.

Head off road regularly? Carry a load or tow a lot? Like to go camping a lot? Got a big family and regularly carry seven people? Look somewhere else. Just a like a tiny petrol powered city car wouldn't suit any of these lifestyles comfortably, an EV currently isn't the answer to every problem.

But for an urban dweller with an average Kiwi daily commute (which is less than 30km), then an EV could well be ideal to travel to work and back in, while as a second car to potter around town in, an EV makes even more sense.

An EV can look like almost any other car these days. You can even get EV conversions for classic cars.

Just like you would with a normal petrol or diesel powered vehicle, you should buy what suits your lifestyle and needs first and foremost.

What kinds of EVs are there?

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

The government officially classifies an EV as something with a plug. Okay, that's not the exact official wording, but it sums it up nicely.

This includes a couple of different types of vehicles - BEVs, PHEVs and, less commonly these days, EREVs.

BEVs are 'Battery Electric Vehicles', they run purely on electricity and their only power source is an on-board battery. The most common BEV in New Zealand (and the world) is the Nissan Leaf, which hasn't been available as a new vehicle here for a while (Nissan NZ said it couldn't source the right specification at the right price) but the new one is coming soon, while it is very popular as a used-import.

PHEVs are 'Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicles' and they are essentially hybrids with a larger battery that, in addition to the charge it receives from the car's regenerative braking, can also be plugged in to recharge.

PHEVs generally have a more limited pure-electric range of usually around 30 to 50km (which is more than enough for an average daily commute to work and back), but the additional internal combustion engine allows for longer open-road trips without any range anxiety or long charging times. PHEVs are becoming increasingly mainstream, with most manufacturers offering or planning to offer PHEV versions of some or all of their cars.

EREVs are 'Extended-range Electric Vehicles' and, like PHEVs, also have an internal combustion engine. But unlike PHEVs, that extra engine never drives the wheels, but rather spins to generate electricity for the EV drivetrain.

EREVs are rarer, as only two were ever sold new in New Zealand - the Holden Volt and BMW i3 REX (with the Nissan Note e-Power coming in as a used import) - although you could technically argue that Volt isn't a true EREV because the 1.4-litre petrol generator does supply drive to the wheels under very specific (and very occasional) circumstances, but in spirit it's still an EREV.

Public fast charging stations are currently the fastest way to charge an EV and some are even free.

BMW originally sold the i3 only as an EREV in New Zealand - complete with its tiny scooter engine tucked in the rear of the car - adding the BEV later, but it has since dropped it with the introduction of a longer range i3 BEV.

You can see a list of every new EV and PHEV on sale in New Zealand, as well as a round up of the most common used imports by clicking here.

How do I charge an EV?

By plugging it in to a power outlet - it's that simple.

But there are differences - while it is possibly to simply plug one into a socket in your wall at home, this is the slowest option. While it is fine for a slow overnight charge - even recommended for the long-term health of the battery - EVs with bigger ranges (like Teslas, the Hyundai Kona and Jaguar I-Pace) still won't get a full charge from empty overnight (not that you should do that - keeping the state of charge between 20 and 80 per cent is ideal), with around 100km of range being the average for an overnight charge on a wall socket, according to the Better NZ Trust's website.

Most manufacturers offer a faster home charging option in the form of a wall-mounted AC charger, usually for around $1,000 to $1,500 (it does vary a bit though, and then there is the cost of getting an electrician to wire it in) that, depending on the type (and the type of power supply) will pump 100km of range into an EV in between one and five hours.

Public DC fast chargers are the powerhouses (literally) of the EV charging family and New Zealand has a fast growing network of these across the country. A 25kW unit will add 100km in around an hour, while a 50kW unit will do it in 25 minutes.

You mean there's different plugs?! Yes there are, and no, it's not actually that confusing.

The rarer 120kW units will pump 100km of range into an EV in just 10 minutes. This also depends on the car, for example the new Jaguar I-Pace can support up to 100kW charging, but will be able to use 150kW chargers when they arrive via a simple software update.

In the near future the likes of 450kW chargers will become more common (Porsche and BMW have unveiled one for Europe) which will cram 100km of range into you car in just 3 minutes, while China is said to be developing a 900kW standard.

Tesla's superchargers are currently running at 145kW, but the company is planning to upgrade its network to 250kW this year. Of course, only Tesla's can use the supercharger network.

Are there different plugs?

Yes, there are different plugs and, no, there currently isn't a standard for all chargers and cars.

There are several different types of connector and while some charge stations offer a choice, not everybody offers everything.

Previously the most common was the Type 1 (aka J1772), as fitted to the Audi A3 E-tron, BMW i3/i8 and Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV for the Kiwi market. It's a connector that still converts AC power to DC, so it's slower than the latest generation of 'fast chargers'.

There is also another version of the Type 1 called the SAE Combo or CCS, which has the same connector shape but with two extra pins underneath to allow much more rapid DC charging. Yes, the Type 1 and Combo/CCS look quite similar. No, they're not interchangeable.

Are EVs more or less reliable than a normal petrol-powered car? Some are, some aren't.

The most common type in Japan is CHAdeMO, which uses an incredibly intricate-looking plug and firehose-like cord. You'll find this on a Nissan Leaf (although the Leaf also has a Type 1 connector for good measure) and other used imports from Japan like the Kia Soul, Mitsubishi iMiev and some Outlander PHEVs.

The Type 2 (aka Mennekes) standard seems to be taking the lead recently, however, as it supports both AC (the single Type 2 plug) and DC (the CCS Type 2 with the two extra pins) charging. This has gained favour among European manufacturers and there is even talk of phasing out Type 1 and CHAdeMO in Europe.

NZTA issued guidelines in 2016 on the socket types to install at public stations, saying that they should offer an AC socketed Type 2 connection (with drivers supplying a cable to fit their car) and DC CHAdeMO and Type 2 CCS cabled connections, with the option of an AC Type 2 socket.

A lot public charging stations offer this, but not all, so if you buy an EV, familiarise yourself with the charge stations that accept your connector.

Is a used EV a more risky buy than a used ICE car?

Not really, no.

EV fanatics will tell you they are more reliable because they have less moving parts, while EV haters will regale you with stories of battery packs that will need to be replaced within a few short years and cost you more than the car is worth, but the truth is somewhere in between.

EVs do have less moving parts, but they still have moving parts that can and will wear out and, while those batteries do degrade, that only means a reduced range and not necessarily the ultimate death of the vehicle.

A study of the degradation of batteries in the Tesla Model S in the USA found that drivers who used the performance of their cars regularly and drove 'very hard' on a daily basis experienced faster battery degradation than those who didn't. But the study still projected that, even then, most would still have more than 90 per cent battery capacity remaining after 200,000km.

Most EVs are able to have their batteries replaced and a lot can even just have individual cells replaced, but it isn't cheap - costing several thousands, depending on manufacturer - but the cost is dropping.

Just like conventional cars, there are good ones and bad ones - the Nissan Leaf consistently rank as one of the most reliable vehicles, while Teslas tend to do the opposite - but there is currently no evidence to suggest purchasing a used EV is necessarily any riskier than purchasing a used ICE vehicle.