EO Charging, a European leading electric vehicle (EV) charging provider, is expanding into New Zealand via a deal with local energy supplier YHI Energy.
The British based EO Charging inked the deal with YHI Energy to deliver residential and commercial charging products to meet demand for New Zealand’s rapidly growing EV market.
This marks EO’s first such partnership in the region and will initially focus on EO’s home charging products. However, by the end of the year, EO Charging will also begin rolling out its fleet commercial fleet charging solutions.
“The electric vehicle market in New Zealand has historically lagged behind global trends but is now about to hit a tipping point,” said Sam Steele, managing director for APAC at EO Charging.
“It’s critical that country-wide electrification is not stalled by a lack of charging infrastructure, both for everyday EV drivers and forward-thinking businesses.
“Our charging solutions are already used by some of Europe’s largest car, van, truck and bus fleets, allowing us to bring invaluable insight to this growing market.
Amongst the EO charging solutions on the table are the EO Mini and EO Mini Pro 2 – which it says is the the world’s smallest smart home charger, as well as the EO Genius. These are Fast AC charge points, designed for commercial return-to-depot fleets, workplaces, and commercial environments.
Additionally, EO Charging’s hardware agnostic charge point management software, EO Cloud, will tie together charging infrastructure, providing remote management and monitoring, as well as the ability to monetise charging infrastructure.
EO Charging’s expansion into New Zealand comes as New Zealand introduced its recent “clean car” government incentives in 2021. The electric vehicle transition has seriously picked up pace since then.
For example, in 2021, sales of electrified vehicles – including BEVs, plug-in hybrids, and hybrids – increased by 94% compared with 2020. Pure battery electric vehicle sales increasing by 344%.
Joshua S. Hill is a Melbourne-based journalist who has been writing about climate change, clean technology, and electric vehicles for over 15 years. He has been reporting on electric vehicles and clean technologies for Renew Economy and The Driven since 2012. His preferred mode of transport is his feet.