I'm surprised the highway service centre doesn't have any. At least not yet.
The longer that situation remains, the better for business in Yass…drove past the supercharger today and it was full and being in the backyard effectively of the Club House Hotel and half a block from the Main Street, it must be bringing in some cashflow for the pub and local cafes.
 
Just realised the Tesla chargers at Kings Park Perth have opened, but they’re $0.87/kWh which I think is pretty steep compared to Chargefox ($0.60/kWh) or Evie ($0.64/kWh) Are these prices similar to what you pay over on the East coast?

They do go up to 250kW but I find 50 kW is often rapid enough anyway. And the Chargefox at RAC HQ is 350kW and still $0.60/kWh (plus 20% discount if you’re an RAC member).
I’m not worried by the cost of these chargers, it represents a small (<20%) of my charging and to date has cost less than $280 in my 19000kms of driving. Home charging is well below 2 cents/km so I’m happy to pay for the convenience of a supercharger whenever I’m away from home.
 
The longer that situation remains, the better for business in Yass…drove past the supercharger today and it was full and being in the backyard effectively of the Club House Hotel and half a block from the Main Street, it must be bringing in some cashflow for the pub and local cafes.
Absolutely. I'll be stopping in Yass for a half hour on my trip across from Sydney to Adelaide and have already checked out which coffee shops or bakeries are going to be open and have good reviews.
Same with Griffith, Hay, Mildura and Barmera.
Towns that have charging infrastructure get economic benefits. It's a really good thing.
 
Absolutely. I'll be stopping in Yass for a half hour on my trip across from Sydney to Adelaide and have already checked out which coffee shops or bakeries are going to be open and have good reviews.
Same with Griffith, Hay, Mildura and Barmera.
Towns that have charging infrastructure get economic benefits. It's a really good thing.
ICE drivers seem to imply that they fill ‘er up and drive 600-800kms virtually non-stop till they need to fill up again. They apply this ‘mythical’ narrative to EVs when reality for me is a two hour drive…20-30 min break and charge, and off we go again. The problem I’m encountering is that charging is getting faster in general and I get phone app alerts that the car is charged before I’ve finished my coffee or meal. First World problems eh?
 
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In the NL it is the other way around. Tesla is cheaper than others. For non subscription users the current price would about aus $.63 per kwh. When you pay the monthly fee it is about 5 cents less. Tesla chargers are really competitive here.
 
In the NL it is the other way around. Tesla is cheaper than others. For non subscription users the current price would about aus $.63 per kwh. When you pay the monthly fee it is about 5 cents less. Tesla chargers are really competitive here.
That's most intriguing. I wonder what drives that completely different behavior?
Is it government regulations or business decisions?
I must admit when we're in the UK I just typically hire the cheapest "automatic" I can get* but would hire an EV if the hire car companies offered them cost competitively.


*Why are automatic transmission hire cars so much more expensive than manuals in the UK? It's bizarre.
You literally can't buy a manual in Australia these days...
 
The longer that situation remains, the better for business in Yass…drove past the supercharger today and it was full and being in the backyard effectively of the Club House Hotel and half a block from the Main Street, it must be bringing in some cashflow for the pub and local cafes.
It’s a good point you raise, ev charging should happen were you want to be, instead of driving to a place to charge like ICE vehicle do now. Especially when you are spending 15-20 minutes there. I think that’s also a complaint a lot of people make about EV’s but they need to realise most people will charge at home, and those that don’t want to charge where they are going for the day
 
That's most intriguing. I wonder what drives that completely different behavior?
Is it government regulations or business decisions?
I must admit when we're in the UK I just typically hire the cheapest "automatic" I can get* but would hire an EV if the hire car companies offered them cost competitively.


*Why are automatic transmission hire cars so much more expensive than manuals in the UK? It's bizarre.
You literally can't buy a manual in Australia these days...
Lots of European cars sell standard with manual and a lot of people don’t pay for the automatic option, it’s the complete opposite (at least up until I left NL 7 years ago) from here in Aus. It’s just what people are used to I suppose.
 
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That's most intriguing. I wonder what drives that completely different behavior?
Is it government regulations or business decisions?
Both.
From the business side I guess they rate this country very high because of the potential sales per customer. Do not forget that initially sales of petrol cars was supposed to be phased out after 2030 in the EU. Although this might change again (Volkswagen is losing big money and EV's do not compensate enough), crowded EU countries like NL will keep pushing for green energy in traffic.

The government has been pushing for EV's (as the they did with solar panels) so initially there were also enough customers here. Mainly company EV cars were sold because the individual consumer had a hard time financing them.

The problem however is that the Dutch market itself is rather small compared to other countries. It is also expected that sales of electric cars will drop further because of the tax reduction on EV's disappearing. Also, bringing your solar power to the net will cost you. Sales in solar panels have dropped significantly.

So BP is already withdrawing, TOTAL is moving out of energy delivery for companies. Others will surely follow.

Tesla has been dropping its car prices quite aggressively in the EU. It even started a factory close to Berlin. Although more expensive than an MG, the Tesla 3 models are sold very well. They dominate the EV scene here.
Tesla chargers have always been a part of the Tesla sales pitch. And to be honoust, it isn't just small talk. They often charge faster than many other super chargers. And pricewise it was always interesting to use Tesla chargers. Losing these chargers or making them less attractive pricewise will hurt current Tesla drivers and future sales.
To keep their share of the EV charging (not just for Tesla drivers) they kept prices low.
 
Just checking some images online it appears to be normal. Makes sense really, why would you be holding on to the car roof? Your hands should be on the steering wheel. ;)
Thanks for the reply. Like @Coulomb says I thought the handle might assist people with mobility/weight issues getting out of the car. Fortunately, that doesn't apply to me....yet. :D
 
I have just over 21,000 km on the clock now after nearly 15 months and have only used fast chargers on 4 long trips of 500-600 km and 2 of 350 km mostly on 110kmh highway. I have used 1 x 350kW Evie charger when I was pretty low & the GOM said I might get home or I might not. It went straight up to 140 kW & I only had it plugged in for 5 or 6 minutes, just in time to get a cold drink, return & unplug. Cost was I think 70c/kWh at the time.

The last trip I spent $71.36 at fast chargers, none of them faster than 150 kW costing from 50c to 75c/kWh. Total distance travelled was about 1150 km & I detoured through Murwillumbah to Nimbin, Mountain Top, via Mt Warning, Lismore & back roads to Ballina. The MG was superb up the winding roads. At one point I slowed & a local came up behind me & wanted to pass. I lost him within a minute or 2. Love that instant torque. I pushed the car pretty hard so the economy was not that flash but I didn't monitor it.

The rest of the time I charge at home from solar energy and from 2 hours free power per day from my supplier. The extra 6.5kW of solar cost $3,990.00 & the 7.4kW EVSE cost $675.00 installed. I estimate the petrol equivalent of $3,600.00 has been saved so far (based on $2.00 per litre) so in a few months I will break even on that capital outlay.

For me the economics are undeniable and I am only using energy from coal fired power when I am on a trip.
 
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You are lucky you can rely on your solar power. If you need to rely on commercial chargers it is whole different story. And if the value of your EV drops as fast as they do here....
 
You are lucky you can rely on your solar power. If you need to rely on commercial chargers it is whole different story. And if the value of your EV drops as fast as they do here....
Most of my charging from solar is free as I do it during the day when my solar is exporting and the house is using all it needs. Estimate that it costs 1 cent/km for me to drive.
 
I have 15 solar panels too. But only 15 of them and I need 60kwh each 2 days. I cannot even pull them out the panels on a good summer day. Let allone on a winters day.
 
The Netherlands is about 52 degrees North whereas where I live in Australia we are 30 degrees South. This is a significant advantage when producing electricity from PV arrays due to the angle the rays strike the panels and orientation of the panels on the roof.

My original installation (8 x 250 watt panels in 2013) is only a few degrees off North. The 15 x 440 watt panels installed in February this year are on the East facing roof so production is great all morning but starts to drop off from about 2 PM. I produce around 50 to 55 kWh per day at the moment from 8.5 kW of panels. In Winter it is 30 to 35 kWh/day.

This is of course on sunny days and sunshine is very plentiful here.
 
Depreciation on my car is irrelevant to me as I keep a car usually for 10 years from new. The fuel savings over an ICE car compensates but the driving experience is the real winner.
I tend to ignore the money I put into Solar and battery for the house as it just becomes part of the overall house value but I’ve spent AU$9500 on fuel between May2020 and Oct 2023 when I bought the MG. That’s $230/mth on diesel and ULP and to date my outlay on public charging is $18.53/ mth. If I keep the car for 10 years the savings (not buying fuel) is about $28k which is close to the cost of the solar/batter/charger and doesn’t include the inflation effects on fuel.
Car depreciation is not relevant as in 10 years time the EV second hand market is likely to be different to the present.
 
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