Chargefox raising electric vehicle charging fee following price hikes by Ampol and Evie Networks
The price of refueling electric vehicles in Australia is rising as the price of electricity rises
- Chargefox raises the cost of charging electric cars
- Will rise from 40 cents per kilowatt hour to 45 cents
- Tracks price hikes in February by Ampol and Evie Networks
The price of refueling electric vehicles in Australia is rising, with a third-party provider raising the cost of some public chargers in response to rising electricity prices.
Chargefox, which operates Australia’s largest electric vehicle charging network, has unveiled plans to increase the cost of charging cars at selected locations in NSW and Victoria.
The move follows similar price hikes by Ampol and Evie Networks in February.
But electric vehicle experts said most drivers could avoid rising costs by changing their charging habits, and still save money compared to driving a petrol car.
Chargefox revealed plans to raise prices for 20 of its fast-charging stations in a blog post, adding 11 percent to the cost of charging cars in locations such as Ballina and Sydney in NSW, and Ballarat and Torquay in Victoria.
Chargefox has unveiled plans to raise prices for 20 of its fast-charging stations from 40 cents per kilowatt-hour to 45 cents
“To continue to provide the best service, we must take into account the recent increase in energy prices,” the company said in a statement.
‘That is why we are increasing the charging price at a number of our 50 kilowatt-hour fast charging stations.’
The price of charging at these locations will increase from 40 cents per kilowatt hour to 45 cents.
Evie Networks rolled out a similar price increase across its network in February and Ampol increased the charging costs at its five charging points from 60 to 69 cents per kilowatt hour.
Swinburne University future urban mobility Hussein Dia said the price increases were not unexpected given Australia’s rising electricity costs, and that drivers would still save money compared to driving a petrol car.
Analysis by the Electric Vehicle Council showed that gasoline vehicles typically cost 14 cents per mile to run, compared to four cents per mile for electric cars.
Chargefox’s announcement follows similar price hikes by Ampol and Evie Networks in February
“Electric vehicle driving has always been much cheaper,” said Prof. Dia.
“This may mean that we see some behavioral changes from drivers. If you’re on the road and need to top up, you have no other choice, but if people can anticipate their journey and charge at home at night, it won’t bother them.’
The change could also encourage more electric car drivers to solar-charge their vehicles, he said.
Australian Electric Vehicle Association national president Chris Jones said the “massive” and rising cost of installing charging infrastructure could also drive up public charging rates in the future.
But he said most motorists could avoid steep price hikes by planning their trips and charging at work or at home, and would bear modest increases when driving long distances.
In a statement, Chargefox said it is increasing costs because “we have to take into account recent increases in energy prices”
“People accept a significant price for fast charging for the convenience it provides,” Jones said.
‘As long as you don’t do it every day of the week, it won’t make any real difference to most people.
“People who regularly need fast charging, such as Uber, taxi, truck and delivery drivers, will probably start to feel it.”
Australia has nearly 2,400 public electric vehicle charging points, the number of which grew from 1,614 to 2,392 last year, according to the EV Council.