Electric Vehicles Charging Ahead

But is an electric car a realistic proposition for you? While the idea of driving an electric car can be appealing to many of us, the reality of what this entails is still relatively unclear to a number of people. We attempt to add some clarity and make it easier to decide if an electric vehicle is the right choice for you.

How long will it take to charge the car and how far will it go?

Charging time and range can vary. You can charge inside or outside, in any weather, so long as all equipment is designed for use in New Zealand and for the conditions in which it will be used. Most electric vehicles are currently capable of about 100 miles of driving before they need to be recharged. The exception is the Tesla Model S, which can travel about 250 miles on a charge.

At home: 

A Portable  3-pin charging cable is typically priovided with your EV when you buy it and plugs into a standard household power point. In reality, this can take around 20 hours per charge. Installing a dedicated wall-mounted charging unit that provides more safety than a regular charging cable and can charge faster, yet they’re easier on the battery than fast (DC) charging.

Some devices have timers to make off-peak charging easy. They may display information and allow you to control charging with a smartphone

Charging an EV at home overnight is the equivalent of buying petrol at 30c per litre*.

Some power companies offer special rates for EV owners.

* Estimate based on a residential off-peak charge rate and will vary.

Out and about:

There are two types of public charging stations - fast (DC) and slow (AC).

• Fast chargers help you drive beyond your EV’s battery capacity in one go. They can add 100km of range to the battery in 20-30 minutes. They typically cost about $10 per 100km.

Companies installing fast charging stations include local electricity networks, ChargeNet and Chargemaster. To access a fast charging network you generally need to create an account online first.

• Slow chargers let you top up your EV while you do something else. You often find them at places such as shops, hotels and tourist attractions.

Charging is usually free and can take several hours.

How expensive are they to run and maintain?

Electric vehicles are much cheaper to run than petrol or diesel vehicles. The EECA has calculated that the fuel running cost of an EV is the equivalent of paying $0.30/L, or approximately 15% of the cost of running an equivalent sized petrol vehicle.

EECA’s 30 cents per litre is an estimate based on the fuel running cost of an EV compared to a similarly sized petrol engine car, and will vary.

The calculation is based on:

• A comparison of the fuel running costs of a 2018 Hyundai IONIQ EV, a common EV in New Zealand, relative to a 2018 Toyota Corolla GX, a popular similar sized petrol engine car.
• Urban driving energy consumption:
  • 11.5kWh/100km for Hyundai IONIQ
  • 6.4L/100km for Toyota Corolla.
• Energy costs:
  • Residential off-peak electricity rate of $0.15 kWh incl GST (home overnight charging). Excludes fixed line charges as these are not additional costs for EV charging.
  • Petrol pricing at $2.00/L.
• RUC – excludes road user charges, as EVs are currently exempt from RUC charges

Electric cars have far fewer moving parts than gas vehicles meaning there are fewer things that will need to be repaired. Additionally, electric vehicles do not require oil or transmission fluid changes. However, most EV batteries will need to be replaced every 7 to 10 years.

When an EV battery no longer provides a useful driving range – typically after many years – it can be refurbished or replaced. Sometimes it’s possible to just replace the dead cells within a battery. If a full replacement is required, you may be able to improve the range of your EV by installing a new battery with more capacity.

Contact us today to find what type of vehicle is right for you.

What about Hybrid?

Hybrid cars that don't plug-in are more fuel efficient than a comparable petrol car, and produce fewer carbon emissions. They use a combination of a petrol or diesel engine with a battery or on-board electric motor.

How hybrid vehicles work

• When pulling away from a stop - hybrid vehicles are powered by their electric motor, drawing on the battery for power.
• During normal cruising - only the petrol or diesel engine is used (this is when it is most efficient). At the same time, it powers the generator - producing electricity and storing it in the batteries for later use.
• During heavy acceleration - both the petrol or diesel engine and the electric motor work together to increase power to the wheels. This reduces fuel consumption considerably.

Hybrids don’t plug into an electricity supply to recharge, their only source of energy is the fuel used by the engine. The battery is charged by the combustion engine, and energy is captured when the vehicle brakes (regenerative braking).

Plug-in hybrids

Plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) are considered an electric vehicle as the batteries in a PHEV can be charged from external electricity supplies (as well as by their onboard internal combustion engine), for example Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV and Audi e-tron.

Buying the most efficient vehicle for your lifestyle can make all the difference to your fuel bill. Fuel consumption can differ hugely - even between similar sized vehicles - so it’s wise to compare models and features.