Electric Vehicles – Page 2 – Tesla Owners Club Western Australia

15 September 20222 April 2024

So you want to drive an EV across the Nullarbor?

Last Updated: December 2023

Clearly the quicker (and possibly cheaper) option is to travel across Australia on a commercial jet, so if you’re not sure you have the patience and planning skills take the airport option. For those more adventurous read on.

Before I continue I want to make something very clear: If you aim to get across the country as quickly as possible in your EV it can only be done with planning and patience. Trying to rush will not gain you any time but it’s highly likely you will lose time by; unplugging too early, not reading the Plugshare comments, and lastly not respecting the opening and closing times clearly marked on the Plugshare description.

By early 2024 the WA state government will have enough fast DC chargers installed between Perth and Eucla to provide a fairly comfortable trip, once you get into South Australia its anyone’s guess, SA do have a charging rollout planned but it’s very Adelaide centric, so for the next 12 months or so most charging requires knowledge and patience.

To keep this a moderate length read I’ll focus on the drive between Port Augusta and Norseman, a distance of 1,670km. There is already an article on TOCWA’s website discussing the Perth to Kalgoorlie section.

The road – It’s generally good the whole way with a long sections of chip seal surface that increases energy consumption. There are no overtaking lanes but considering it’s mostly flat and straight with good visibility overtaking is relatively easy. Despite the road being good I highly recommend you take a full size spare tyre and wheel combo, in the unlikely chance you get a tyre issue it will be a major one rather than a slow leak from a tech screw. Be aware Roadhouses don’t replace tyres, they sell fuel, food and drink.

What to do/take:

Make sure your cold tyre pressures are correct, keep monitoring those pressures throughout the journey.
Study Plugshare thoroughly before you leave, especially the comments. While charging during the journey check Plugshare for your next stop just in case there’s any late changes. Always check into Plugshare so other EV drivers on the Nullarbor can plan ahead. Edit: it has become very apparent that the number of EVs crossing the Nullarbor have increased significantly through November and December 2022, there is a chance you could arrive at a charge point that is already in use, it is in your best interest to plugshare your journey so other drivers can liaise with you. The simple 30 second task of checking into plugshare by yourself and other EV travelers could save you 3 or 4 hours of wasted time at the next charge stop.
Take the correct charging cable plus plan B and C cables. The correct cable is a 3 phase Juice Booster 2 or KHONS cable, the Tesla GEN2 UMC to 3 phase tail is a plan D and should NOT be used on Nullarbor 3 phase outlets unless you’re desperate.
I can not stress how important it is to follow the mantra of ALWAYS BE CHARGING, do not cut your charging session short at a working charge point because you think the next one is faster or cheaper.
Telstra is the only choice for any chance of phone reception (of course if you fit in your roaming Starlink dish you’re king of the Nullarbor). Even carriers using the Telstra network do not work.
Keep yourself busy and the charging time won’t appear so slow, Nullarboring is a term used by people with no imagination.
Have the BOM app on your phone – The air temp and wind direction can have a big effect on your range, plan ahead and add more charge than you require to be safe.
Take a relaxed attitude about the facilities, most of the infrastructure is pre 1976, it’s generally clean but worn out. Producing clean water, electricity and keeping everything operational is expensive due to being so far from a capital city so don’t expect much value for money. Take note that due to staff shortages most locations have cleared up the dishes, closed the bar and hopped off to bed far earlier than you expect.

Wear a Diplomatic hat – like much of the country, regional areas are struggling to find staff, those on site are working long hours, you are one of a hundred customers that day. Keep in mind by allowing EVs to charge Roadhouse management are doing you a favour rather than making a profit from selling electricity.
Understand that some new staff members have no idea the business has a charge point, it can be a interesting conversation.
Leave early arrive early, getting on to the road just before sunrise is a great way to start the day, plan your first charging stop for a late breakfast. Traffic is almost non existent in the early morning, visibility is good and it’s easier to spot wildlife. By late afternoon it’s best to be parked up with the car on charge while the rest of the tourists are frantically racing to their next destination while driving into a blazing sunset with no hope of seeing a Roo about to smash the headlights.
Take into account as you drive east you’ll lose an average of 15 minutes of daylight every 400kms, on the drive west you’ll gain 15 minutes.
Be very aware of the change in time zones as the Nullarbor also has its own AWCT time from Cocklebiddy to the WA border, you may roll up to a Roadhouse thinking its 6.30pm when it’s actually 7.15pm and the staff have locked up for the evening.

What not to do:

Do not plug in without seeking permission, if you have a passenger get them to go seek out a staff member while the driver parks up and gets the cable ready.
Do not Hypermile, it’s not necessary with the biggest gap between chargers being 200kms. It may be okay to drive slower in the early hours of the morning when the roads are virtually free of traffic but during daylight hours anything less than 90kmh has the potential to aggravate other road users.
During overnight stops don’t try and charge too fast if you don’t need to, plan to have your car finish charging just before expected departure. If you charge at the highest rate and the breaker trips during the night you may not realize and could end up wasting time in the morning.
Do not turn off the air conditioner on warm afternoons, a warm interior reduces driver concentration, set the aircon to 22.5C and all will be fine.
Do not drive fast through the RH car parks, most are Limestone and can be in poor condition with cavernous potholes that are difficult to see, on most occasions it’s less than walking pace or you may end up rattled.
Don’t plan to drive too far in one day especially if you’ve booked accommodation in advance.

Port Augusta

Edit December 2023: Port Augusta now has a 200 kW DC charger located on the waterfront adjacent to the Majestic Oasis Apartments courtesy of RAA of South Australia.

There’s two AC charging options in town, we prefer to use the Majestic Apartments that are centrally located and very secure. The accommodation is very nice with washing machines and dryers in the rooms. Although it’s not necessary to be a guest to use the Tesla HPWC it’s wise to ring at least half a day in advance, ask permission and provide an accurate arrival time, that way the staff will place a witches hat in front of the car charger and open the security gates when they see you pull up. Reception normally refuse payment, a big thank you and some quality chocolate won’t go amiss though. Coles, Woolworths and Big W are all within 200 metres so you can stock up before heading west.

Kimba

Edit November 2023: Kimba now had a 150 kW DC charger located at the Kimba Caravan Park on the Eyre Highway courtesy of the RAA of South Australia. There are also two 7 kW type 2 chargers at the Kimba Bowling Club next to the excellent free camp. Prior to these upgrades below is what the EV community relied on.

Milton tyres has been generously offering EV charging since May 2016, they recently upgraded to a 32amp three phase outlet that makes charging even easier. Payment is dependent on the length of stay. Keep in mind that unless prior arrangements are made this service is only available during business hours Monday to Friday.

Wudinna

As of November 2023 Wudinna has a 150 kW DC charger located at Wudinna Hall courtesy of the RAA of SA.

Poochera

Thanks to Jeff and Karen for offering a charging service since May 2016 after a visit by WA Tesla owners Matt and David. Due to the opening of the Kimba, Wudinna and Streaky Bay DC chargers, from February 2024 the 3 phase is no longer available. The small caravan park is still available for bookings.

Ceduna East-West Motel / Streaky Bay

Update April 2024: The Ceduna RAA DC Charger is now operational next to the hotel on the foreshore.

Edit November 2023: Streaky Bay is now an option with the installation of the 150 kW DC Charger at the Well Street carpark courtesy of RAA of SA.

Work on the Ceduna DC site has not commenced (under the contract the RAA of SA must have this installed by the end of February 2024, this is a critical piece of charging infrastructure), the East-West Motel is currently the best charging option in Ceduna. There are two Tesla HPWCs with handy parking, payment is currently $25 at reception before plugging in. I highly recommend you take the 10 minute walk to the Ceduna Foreshore Hotel for a meal.

Penong Caravan Park

This location has handy 32amp 3 phase outlet located in the centre of the Caravan Park, payment is a $10 service fee plus 40cents a kWh, the service fee includes the use of the facilities such as showers and camp kitchen. Penong is another example of friendly South Australian country people making up for the lack of government support emanating from Adelaide. A nice overnight stop.

The Nullarbor Roadhouse

Update March 2024: The NRMA have installed a solar/battery powered DC charger, it has 2 separate 75kW chargers.

Edit December 2023: There is now a 22 kW DC CCS2 charging unit in place.

The 3 phase outlet is on the rear of the main building to the left hand side as you look from the road, payment is approx $30 via the Cafeteria. Add plenty of extra charge at this location as a coastal headwind driving west could leave you struggling to get the next charge point.

Border Village

As you may see from Plugshare comments Trevor is the go to person at this location, ask for him at reception and he’ll guide you around to the rear workshop. Charging is strictly limited to 20amp 3 phase, that’s okay if you have a model 3 or Y drawing 3 x 16amps but it’s also where the Tesla Gen2 UMC to 3 phase tail comes unstuck, charging at 20amps single phase is unnecessarily slow. Charging is complimentary in the hope that you’ll sit down for a meal or stay overnight. Roadhouse hours allow you still order food as late as 8.30pm AWST.

Eucla

This site is no longer allowing EV charging.

Mundrabilla

~~Edit December 2023: There is now a 22 kW DC CCS2 charging unit in place.~~ Update March 2024: This site has reverted back to the 3 phase option only.

This charger is situated outside one of the motel rooms, payment is approx $25, management would much prefer charging in daylight hours or at least avoided between 9.00pm and 6.00am due to the electricity system they have in place.

Pro tip- Stand just inside the roadhouse doorway to gain Telstra reception.

Madura Pass

Update April 2024: Due to a faulty plug the DC is not currently available.

The good news is Madura has a crowd funded 22kW DC charger in the old garage next to the fuel bowsers, the bad news is that due to staff shortages the garage door is only open from 7.00am until 5.00pm. I would advise not to arrive in the late afternoon as at 5.00pm the power is switched off, the doors closed and the fuel attendant rushes off to serve food in the bar, such is life on the Nullarbor currently. Be aware that all but one of the staff at Madura are extremely friendly, unfortunately one has an allergy to Electric Cars and is best left alone. Payment is a donation to the RFDS.

Cocklebiddy

An easy 32amp 3 phase to find, right next to the large Eagles cage with a sign that says TV outlet. The sit down meals here are always worth a try. RFDS donation for payment.

Caiguna Roadhouse

This location has the famous Biofil DC charger that was installed in January 2022, this 50kw unit is powered by a converted diesel generator that consumes used cooking oil from the roadhouse kitchen. Despite some difficulties with solidified fuel on cold winter mornings the Vegpod has served its purpose by encouraging the WA state government to extend the DC charger network across to the WA border. Payment is a $50 service fee plus cost for energy used, staff are required to start to unit. Update 5/11/2022: Nullarbor Roadhouses are still struggling to find staff, Caiguna employees are extremely busy and will start the generator if you contact them well ahead. My suggestion is to avoid stopping here for a DC charge until their circumstances improve. By all means stop in and grab some food and drink or charge from 15 amp overnight.

Balladonia

At the rear of the western side of the main building is another crowd funded 22kw DC charger, the payment is $2.00 per unit as recorded on the DC chargers screen. You will need to go into reception first to get a key. Be patient and follow the instructions exactly or the whole 2 minute process will have to repeated. Be warned, don’t skimp on charging here because it’s $2 a unit and the next location is a flat fee for all you can charge, that method may leave you short of range and possibly stranded.

Norseman

Edit December 2023: The WA EV Network 150 kW DC charger is now available, this saves considerable time for those contemplating the Nullarbor drive. The nearby showers and toilets are unlocked between 8am and 6pm.

Rob and Robin have crossed the Nullarbor 5 times in their Tesla Model S and charged at each location multiple times.

13 August 202215 August 2022

Buying a used EV: without the FUD

Guest post by TOCWA member Matt Kocaj

The influx of new electric vehicle models (EVs) and especially the recent arrival of the Tesla Model Y, heralds a rush of EV owners listing their “old” EVs for sale as they swap or upgrade to the new hotness.

I then saw this recent article by a well respected publisher in the Western Australian automotive community. It really ground my gears! “grinded my gears”? Who knows!? 🤷‍♂️ I was frustrated.

The article is a problem in my opinion because it might leave a used EV buyer to have misinformed expectations about electric vehicles and their batteries. So to set the record straight, I’m going to quote a few sections from said article, and correct the FUD (fear, uncertainty, and doubt). Hopefully those who care for the details, and getting an EV with as much range remaining as possible, will appreciate the following explanations.

EV Batteries degrade like your phone. But much slower.

Degradation is the natural chemical process that an EV battery undergoes as it’s used. As energy goes in and out of the battery many many times, it loses the ability to retain the same amount of energy as it did when it was new.

Various studies, and Tesla’s own data, suggests the average degradation is around 1 per cent of the original capacity per year.

It doesn’t work like this, firstly because degradation isn’t a function of time, but closer to a function of kilometres (km) driven. The more energy in and out of the battery (its “cycles”) the more degradation. Lithium based batteries have a finite lifetime. This is why your phone battery won’t last as long 2 years in, compared to when it was new.

Tesla battery degradation
This image was taken from an article on electrek.co which uses Tesla data.

As you can see the degradation is mostly linear after about 50,000 km. But in the first part of the EVs life the capacity drops a little faster. In the case of a Tesla we know that some vehicles have well over 90% of the original capacity after many 100s of thousands of km. Other vehicles may be closer to 80% like mine (~2.5y old and 116,000k on the odometer/ODO).

It seems that the less “work” the car does in terms of demands on the battery, the longer it will last. Many EV owners are quite happy to share how their batteries have degraded after 1, 2, 3 or even 5 years of use.

It seems that how an OEM manages a battery has a huge role to play in the longevity of the battery and minimising degradation. I know someone with a gen1 Nissan Leaf who is down to 50% of the original capacity. These batteries are not liquid cooled like a Tesla and generally considered some of the worst cells on the used battery market because of the poor design.

You should definitely ask about the battery degradation

But don’t expect too much when it comes to your local “automotive workshop”. They probably won’t have a clue.

Most automotive workshops should be able to access this data by plugging into the onboard diagnostics (OBD2) port, or in some instances it could be relayed using remote connectivity.

In the case of a Tesla for example, the data you’re after isn’t accessible simply by plugging in a generic OBD2 link. Tesla also doesn’t make it easy to find on the vehicle’s user interface or in the mobile app. You will need a bit of DIY to install a relatively inexpensive adapter and download an app to connect to the car and capture the values.

Read on to see some tips on getting the exact figures from your seller.

Don’t try to reverse engineer estimated range into battery capacity

Between them it allows you to calculate the battery capacity and compare it to the original capacity.

No, it doesn’t.

Most EVs have a series of complex formulas, variables and historical driving data that form the “estimated range in km” displayed inside the vehicle. It’s for this reason that it’s often not useful to try to estimate battery degradation working back from these “range” numbers. The only reliable way to know is to extract the raw values from the car’s computer and use those. One example from a friends Tesla:

full pack when new: 52.4 kWh 
nominal full pack: 48.2 kWh

Therefore this battery has 91.9% of its original capacity remaining. That’s about 8% degradation. That’s pretty normal I’m finding for a 2020 model and 24,000 km on the clock.

EV km and ICE km are not the same

Everything in a car is going to wear and degrade over time and especially when it’s under load or working hard. The moving parts are especially important in an ICE vehicle (Internal Combustion Engine; a non-EV) and this is why it’s conventional to use the km on the ODO as a primary indicator of the wear and tear and a big input to one’s assessment of the value of a used vehicle.

With EVs, this is not as important as the battery degradation. Yes, it will in most cases, correlate strongly with the km driven. But not always. An older EV driven very gingerly may have far less degradation than a near new EV with a young driver who wants to drag everyone at the lights.

An EV battery may be covered under a specific warranty

Tesla for example, quote a very specific warranty for various models ensuring that over a given lifetime (in years), a known capacity is warranted.

Tesla battery warranty: AU capture, Aug 2022

If the battery falls below this remaining capacity inside the age (years) or km driven, then the battery can be claimed for replacement under said warranty. This is good news for used EV owners and supports the real-world data we have measured above. A 10-year old Tesla is not going to be “dead” as I continue to see speculated online. It just won’t get you as far as it would have when it was new. Much like your phone. These EVs will change hands in the used car market for some time.

Ask your seller what the battery degradation is. It’s more important than km

Ask the dealer or private seller what the remaining capacity is. If they don’t know or haven’t already printed it out for you, they may know someone who can help them capture it and give you the figures. Use the above chart as a rough guide to see if the remaining capacity is average for the km on the odometer. This should give you an idea of how much work the vehicle has been subject to in its life so far. Higher values (remaining capacity) are obviously better and will correlate with fewer km driven.

If you don’t feel like you’re getting the answers you want or your seller strikes you as the kind that doesn’t really have a good handle on the workings of batteries, then reach out to the folks here at TOCWA. We have a very friendly community of EV enthusiasts willing to lend a hand or share helpful advice.

Happy (informed) shopping.

Matt is an EV and battery enthusiast. He and his children enjoy pulling apart kids’ toys and “upgrading” them with recycled lithium batteries. Matt has been a Tesla owner since 2020 and is passionate about helping others cross the chasm into the new world. Matt has friends that ride horses purely for leisure. Soon his friends with ICE cars will be driving them purely for leisure too.

A copy of the original referenced article can be found in the Wayback Machine in the event the source is updated after publishing.

23 January 20222 April 2024

Explaining the Nullarbor EV Chargers

As you may have seen in recent news retired engineer Jon Edwards has designed, built and installed a Biofil DC charger at Caiguna on the Western side of the 1200km drive between Ceduna and Norseman, this provides a handy boost for the adventurous EV owners crossing the Nullarbor when border openings allow. Before I continue let’s make one thing very clear, you’re under no obligation to drive across the Nullarbor, commercial air travel is faster, safer and probably cheaper, but as Ferris said “Life moves pretty fast, if you don’t stop and look around once in a while you could miss it”.

Below I’ll discuss the charging available at the locations that are spaced evenly apart.

Before attempting to drive an EV across this part of Australia remember that Plugshare is the only app with the accuracy to plan charging stops, also don’t rely on apps to predict your energy consumption and arrival times, the road surface and wind direction plays a major part in how far you’ll get on a charge, play it safe and always plan to arrive with at least 30kms of range remaining. If you wisely plan your daytime and overnight charging stops the less time you’ll spend topping up the batteries.

Departing Norseman and driving East the first well spaced charging stop is at the Balladonia Roadhouse, 190kms from Norseman, which has a 22kw CCS2 DC charger plugged into the 32amp 3 phase outlet. Compared to the latest 250-350kw DC chargers popping up close to Australia’s populated areas 22kw appears prehistoric, but in reality they’re a pretty handy short term solution that doubles the charging speed a model 3 can get from the existing 3 phase outlet and better still triple the charging speed available to a Hyundai Kona.

Caiguna, 181kms drive from Balladonia, has a 50kw DC charger powered by a Biofil generator, politely ask the counter staff to start the charger then go and enjoy the air conditioned Cafe.

Madura, 157kms drive from Caiguna, has a 22kw DC charger plugged into the 32amp 3 phase outlet, payment is a donation to the Royal Flying Doctor Service tin located in the dining area. Note: as at April 2024 not available due to plug issue.

Mundrabilla, 116kms from Madura and 81kms from Border Villa, now has a 22kw CCS2 DC charger plugged into the 32amp 3 phase outlet. Note: as at April 2024 3 phase only available.

Eucla, this location is 182kms east of Madura, charging is via a 32amp 3 phase outlet in the Laundry of the Eucla Motor Hotel. Be aware that this outlet is not available between 9.00am and 3.00pm, if you expect to arrive at this time maybe use the Border Village charge point, 12kms to the East. Note: this location is no longer available for EV charging.

Nullarbor Roadhouse, 197kms drive from Eucla, has a 22kw CCS2 DC charger plugged into the 32amp 3 phase outlet at the rear of the building close to the motel units. Note: April 2024 NRMA DC charger now in place.

Penong Caravan Park, 223kms east of the Nullarbor Roadhouse, has a 32amp 3 phase (it has been prone to tripping at 28amps so plan accordingly). Penong is part of the South Australian grid so is likely to get a reasonable speed DC charger before too long.

Cocklebiddy and Border Village also have handy 32amp 3 phase outlets if you want to shorten the driving distances between charge sessions or wish to try different accommodation on the return journey.

7 July 202110 April 2024

Around Australia trips in a pure EV

Driver	Start/End point	Completion	Vehicle	New Usable Capacity
1. Glen George	Perth	Nov 2011	MG converted Blue	32 kWh
2 Richard McNeall	Sydney	Sept 2016	Tesla S Blue	82 kWh
3. Jeff Johnson	Sydney	Nov 2016	Nissan Leaf Blue *	21 kWh
4. Sylvia Wilson	Gladstone	July 2018	Tesla S Blue	69 kWh
5. Steve & Keita Burrell	Perth	Aug 2018	Tesla S Titanium	76 kWh
6. Harald Murphy	Perth	Nov 2018 19 days	Tesla X Titanium	82 kWh
7. Wiebe Wakker	Darwin/Sydney	March 2019	VW converted Blue	22 kWh
8. Richard Smith	Darwin	April 2019	Tesla X White	96 kWh
9. Linda Rohrs	Gold Coast	July 2019 (inc Tasmania)	Tesla S Blue	96 kWh
10. Rob & Robin Dean	Perth	Nov 2019 (inc Tasmania)	Tesla S Blue	76 kWh
11. Peter Hayes	Melbourne	Dec 2019	Tesla 3 Silver	72 kWh
12. John Paul	Melbourne	March 2020	Tesla 3 Red	72 kWh
13. Jules Boag	Sydney	May 2021	Tesla S White	72 kWh
14. Michelle & Terry Arzanikow	Ballarat	June 2021	Tesla 3 White	?
15. David McLeod	Warnambool	Aug 2021	Tesla S Blue	96 kWh
16. Phil Smith	Cairns	Aug 2021	Tesla 3 Blue	72 kWh
17. David Coates	Melbourne	Sept 2021	Tesla 3 Blue	72 kWh
18. Bill Gresham & John Phillips	Canberra	July 2022	Hyundai Ioniq Red	38 kWh
19. Jeff & Julie Wicks	Goldcoast	July 2022	Tesla 3 White	?
20. Tiff Overton	Central Coast NSW	Aug 2022	Mercedes EQC400 Silver Grey	80 kWh
21. Harald Murphy	Perth	Sept 2022 14 days	Tesla Y White #AUSYtour	57 kWh
22. Pete Petrovsky	Perth	Sept 2022 17 days	Tesla Y White #AUSYtour	57 kWh
23. Neil Bolton	Canberra	Oct 2022 17 days	Tesla Y White	57 kWh
24. Stuart McBain	Sydney	Nov 2022	Tesla 3 White Charge Around Australia	72 kWh
25. James Taylor	Perth	Dec 2022	Tesla 3 White 26,604km	72 kWh
26. David & Lindsay Lloyd	Perth	Sept 2023	Tesla S White	96 kWh
27. Harald & Rochelle Murphy	Perth	Sept 2023 (inc Tasmania)	Tesla Y White	74 kWh
28. Jeff Giddins	Jan Juc (Vic)	Sept 2023 (towing)	Tesla Y Grey	57 kWh
29. Roger & Jenny Truloff	Goldcoast	Nov 2023	Tesla 3 White	72 kWh
30. Richard Laxton & Myuu Kumagai	Melbourne	Nov 2023	Tesla 3 Blue	72kWh
31. Harald Murphy	Perth	Nov 2023 10 days	Tesla Y White	74kWh
32. Shane Parker & Sarah White	Perth	Feb 2024 (1st caravan/accomm being towed)	Tesla 3 White	52kWh
33. Harald Murphy	Perth	Feb 2024 – Figure 8	Tesla Y White	74kWh
34. Warwick Parkinson	Brisbane	April 2024	Tesla 3	54kWh

* Supported by being supplementarily charged with liquid fueled generators which were either carried onboard or by a support vehicle.

8 June 202114 June 2021

Why 450 km of EV Range is Enough in Australia

Many of you will have seen the social media commentators claiming how much range an electric vehicle needs, it normally goes like this: “I’m all for electric vehicles and keen to buy one but unless it has X amount of range I’ll stick with my trusty diesel”. As each year passes and the range of showroom EVs increase the commentators X number also increases. This is Uncertainty 101 from those with the most to lose when the country transitions to electric drivetrains, it’s a very effective manipulation of all the fence sitters that are close to making a new car purchase.

To make this very clear when I say 450km of range I’m referring to passenger vehicles, not commercial vehicles such as heavy duty four wheel drives that were purchased with the sole purpose of towing a caravan or large trailer over long distances. I’ll also make it very clear that 450kms is real range on coarse surface country roads sitting on 100km/h, this is where the range is needed most. Anyone buying a vehicle that never leaves the Melbourne to Cairns coastal corridor could easily survive on 350km of real range.

There’s no doubt that battery costs per kWh and energy density will improve sufficiently to make the fitting of large battery capacities fairly easy for vehicle makers That’s great for commercial vehicles but a waste of resources for the average Joe who for the vast majority of the year drives less than 200km per day and makes 2 to 3 long trips of maybe 2,000km, having a battery pack 20kWh or even 30kWh bigger than necessary is careless, multiply that by millions of average Joes across Australia and it’s a significant drain on materials, labour and energy that could be better used elsewhere.

So how does 450km of range deal with the vast distances of Australia? That’s a fair question and the answer is straight forward, carefully placed DC fast chargers are a far better use of materials, labour and finances than millions of EVs full of oversized battery packs. The careful placement part is critical, between the capital cities and larger towns 220km average spacings are suitable, for regional areas in north, west and central Australia there’s far less choice of suitable sites so a 300km spacing may have to suffice. A reasonably organized driver should have no issue stopping every 300km to add around 65% charge on a long country trip.

The author currently drives an electric vehicle with 400km of real range on Australian outback roads, and has been to every State and Territory over the past 6 years. His last vehicle was a diesel 4WD with 1,100 km range, it is not missed.

27 April 202127 April 2021

Why You Should “Ruin” Your Weekend in an EV

Many of you may have heard about the cheeky Facebook group “I ruined the weekend“. For those that haven’t its a full of photos and reports on how Electric Vehicle owners have made use of their vehicles going on long outback trips, visiting a country Vineyard, towing a Boat, and generally going about business as usual whilst driving electric rather than petrol or diesel. The Facebook group was a clever idea by long time West Aussie EV owner Ant Day, who like myself and hundreds of owners across Australia are thoroughly sickened by the continual fear campaign aimed at EVs. Politicians Scott Morrison and Michaela Cash claiming that Electric Vehicles will ruin your weekend was an audacious slogan that needed countering.

So why should you “Ruin your weekend”?

On one side of the fence we have a small but vocal group of EV owners supporting the electric transition, on the other side are the naysayers who believe EVs are not the answer, in reality this second group are people who know the electric transition will be detrimental to their business. In the middle are the fence sitters, the vast majority of Australians that have an interest in Electric Vehicles but struggle to separate fact from opinion from all the mud being thrown around, these are the potential owners that need to be convinced. It’s far better to do this with facts rather than opinion.

The best way to achieve this is prove it can be done, get out for a weekender to the country, tow the boat down to the ramp, go camping at some secluded location, go for an interstate trip, but most importantly leave the petrol car at home. Taking your EV to a place it’s apparently not supposed to be is a great conversation starter, it gets fence sitters attention and the conversation around the BBQ gets changed in a positive way. It’s no longer opinion, it’s fact, pessimism has been replaced with optimism. This is something the naysayers will never have, they can never show it can’t be done but you can show it can.