Jaguar offers five years free electric car charging after deal with Chargefox

Jaguar Land Rover has become the first carmaker in Australia to ink a formal agreement with electric car charging network Chargefox, in a deal that will deliver drivers of its all-electric Jaguar I-Pace SUV five years worth of free charging.

The deal, which was announced by Jaguar Land Rover Australia and Chargefox on Monday, allows free access to the network’s 350kW ultra-rapid chargers for the five year period following purchase.

As Australia’s largest public electric car charging network, Melbourne-based Chargefox’s rapidly growing infrastructure will, once completed, enable drivers of the Jaguar I-Pace in Australia to travel from Brisbane to Adelaide and around southern Western Australia without the need to pay for charging.

“Jaguar drivers will be able to drive long distances, confident in the knowledge they will have access to free, unlimited charging on some of the world’s fastest chargers,” said Chargefox co-founder and CEO Marty Andrews in a note by email.

To use the network, “They will register their car in the Chargefox app,” Andrews tells The Driven. “We will know their VIN number and [the 100% discount] will be applied when they turn up to use ultra-rapid charger.”

Additionally, if the car is sold before the first five years ownership is complete, the free charging deal will be able to be used by the next owner.

“It’s a deal that follows the car … very similar to roadside assist memberships,” says Andrews.

Chargefox, which already has three ultra-rapid chargers in operation (Euroa and Barnawatha in Victoria, and Toombul in Queensland), will have by the year’s end a total of 19 ultra-rapid chargers stretching from Brisbane, Sydney, Canberra, Melbourne and Adelaide, with an additional 2 in the Perth area and another planned for Tasmania.

By the end of September, Chargefox says 90% of its network is planned to be operational.

Jaguar Land Rover Australia’s managing director Mark Cameron said in a note by email that the deal underlines out a long-term future of electric vehicles in Australia.

“Charging infrastructure is critical to increasing electric vehicle uptake in Australia and this agreement means Jaguar customers can buy an EV safe in the knowledge it will meet all their expectations,” Cameron said.

“Not only does this initiative make interstate travel and longer journeys a reality, it also benefits regional areas by extending the ownership and driving experience for our customers living outside capital cities,” he added.

“With 22 station locations open by the end of the year, range anxiety ceases to be an issue. Drivers will be able to travel without concern for the level of charge in their batteries.”

The deal is similar to that struck by fellow premium carmaker Porsche with US-based network Electrify America for its all-electric Taycan, which gives Taycan owners in the 3 years of free charging.