The truth about EVs, long-distance driving & regional recharging

Published: May 8, 2021, 1 a.m.

If you own an electric vehicle (or you're thinking about buying one) here's how it's going to play out for long-distance driving in Australia.

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Finding the nearest charger in unfamiliar terrain is more than half the battle here - but provided you\u2019ve got a smartphone and signal, the Chargefox app has you covered - seamlessly. It\u2019s actually pretty easy to find the needle when the app deletes the haystack for you.  

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It\u2019ll find you the nearest charger, give you real-time information about the charger\u2019s status - like, is it operational and/or being used by some other EV owner. And it\u2019ll integrate with Google Maps to give you turn-by-turn instructions to get you there.  

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You also start the charger, stop it, and pay for the electricity within the app - no lining up with the liquid-fuel customers, no paying at the cashier and no having the two-for-one Kit-Kat diabetes meal deal inflicted upon you. So that\u2019s nice.  

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Plugging in - well, they have tried to make it look as much like conventional refuelling as possible. The outlets look like fuel bowsers, and the process is pretty easy. Now, the time to recharge kinda varies, because the outlet needs to talk to the car, and not fry the battery - but you\u2019ll get from near zero to 80 per cent charge fairly fast.

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