A guide to EV charging stations

If you are considering buying, or already own an electric vehicle (EV) then it’s a good idea to find out where you can charge it.

Charging at home or in the car park at work is convenient but at some point, you will want to take it onto the open roads and in Australia there is a plethora of open space to explore.

Australia is 7.692 million km2 in size, that’s a lot of space where an EV could run out of power and incur a hefty tow charge, but it’s no different to an internal combustion engine breaking down.

EVs have fewer parts that can fail so it should be more reliable and as long as you take into consideration decreased driving range in Australia’s extremely hot weather, then you should be fine.

Currently, there are give or take 2000 public charging stations in Australia, approximately 250 of those are fast-charging.

A high priority has been put on the infrastructure and development of more public charging facilities, which will be located close to our national highways.

However, those figures don’t take into account the vast amount of private charging stations that are popping up across Australia including regional areas where EV owners previously dared not travel.

EV SERVICING - How often and how much does it cost?
 
If you are lucky you might have access to free power.

If you’re not one of the lucky ones then you will want some details of charging station info, because owning an EV requires planning.

You will probably want to know the charging station cost per kWh, amps, adaptor requirements and where the stations are located so you can plan each day, or trip ahead of time.

If you are planning on escaping the cities you will be interested to know there are campsites, caravan parks, car parks, tourist sites, holiday parks, resorts and national parks that have charging facilities.

Ideally, you should call ahead or use some of the options shown below to book ahead and get further information required, before just turning up.

Otherwise, it could be a fingers crossed ‘she’ll be right’ moment that you regret later.

The big question is where do you go to find the most up to date EV charging station location info?

Here are a few places where you can find EV charging station locations and info:

• Vehicles onboard navigation system
• Google Maps has real-time availability of EV charging stations
• EV charging station apps like Chargefox, PlugShare, ChargePoint
• Websites - myelectriccar.com.au - electricvehiclecouncil.com.au - drivezero.com.au

You might be surprised how much information is available to you, with some options providing reviews or comments from users of the facilities who have left some nifty first-hand information and pricing.

The manufacturer of your vehicle may also have charging locations or options specific for your vehicle.

Once you have a look you will see a vast range of EV charging stations dotted across the country, whether it’s public or private, in cities, regional towns or even in the outback.

As long as you're mindful of your vehicle's range and you accept there could be power costs involved, then there are no excuses.

Australia is charged up and open for EV’s.