EV owners call for end to free fast charging to prevent charging queues

The organisation representing Australia’s rapidly increasing numbers of electric vehicle drivers is calling for free fast charging offers to be scrapped, saying they are cited as one of the top two complaints among EV owners.

Chris Jones, the president of the Australian Electric Vehicle Association (AEVA), says offers of free fast charging  – particularly those made as an inducement to buy top of the line cars – are encouraging EV drivers to take up much needed space at public charging infrastructure when they could, or should, be charging at home. 

“Anecdotally, we’re seeing urban fast chargers, particularly metropolitan fast chargers, being occupied by people with vehicles they’ve purchased under the offer,” Jones says.

“In Perth, there is a fast charger at the RAC headquarters and there’s a Mercedes-Benz parked there every second day. When quizzed about it, he said, ‘it’s free so why wouldn’t I’.”

AEVA says most of the luxury brands offer generous free charging deals as incentives, that allow buyers of their premium cars to use any public DC fast charger which is part of the offering network, as well as some slow AC chargers, at no cost to the driver.

Audi is offering six years of free charge; BMW, Genesis, Mercedes-Benz and Jaguar will give you five years; buyers of a new Lexus or Porsche EV will drive away with a three year deal; and Nissan brings up the rear with one year.

Jones says the risk is that EVs that don’t need to be there, taking up space at congested spots, will raise the already-high blood pressure sport — guided by an unwritten code of conduct that is being tested by a swathe of non-enthusiast owners — of getting to a functioning charger. 

Time for governments to get involved?

Although network operators are taking a market approach, it may be that the solution must be a regulatory one. 

Jones says there may be an opportunity through the likes of the ACCC to look at the prospect of market distortion caused by the free use of public charging infrastructure. 

“There’s nothing wrong with offering free charging at a Porsche dealership but as part of Chargefox, that creates problems for the rest of us who don’t have a free deal,” he says.

“What we encourage governments to do is the least worst option. It’s going to be tough, we appreciate the transition is going to be messy, but they could avoid market distortions by discouraging free charging offers on public infrastructure.”

Already governments are calling the shots on some parts of the charging network: the NSW government is co-funding up to 180 Tesla charge stations in the state and requires that they be available to use by all EV owners, rather than locked for Teslas only.

Fee payers annoyed by free users

Jones, like a growing number of Australian drivers in online forums, are annoyed about the way free offers are distorting the market for chargers.

“I live in the Wollongong area and the two NRMA chargers are getting totally smashed with EV charging because they are free and a number of same EVs are fully charging every day, not a charge once a week or a visitor staying or passing through,” went an online comment from an NRMA community forum user dubbed ‘Enforcer’. 

It is not an isolated incident:

See our stories:”Sorry, I went ballooning:”  It’s high time charging networks cracked down on EV squatters.

And another: ““I’m calibrating:” Why some Tesla drivers make people wait at free fast chargers

The issue also generated a storm of comments on TheDriven when we reported in June that NRMA is planning to introduce fees on its chargers.

At the same time, Chargefox has introduced an idling fee of $1 a minute in Western Australia to deter EV owners from leaving their car attached to a charger, perhaps while going ballooning. 

The Driven reached out to NRMA and Chargefox to find out how the free offers will affect their plans for new fees, but were not able to provide a response by publication.

Public fast charging in Australia is struggling to keep pace with the influx of new EVs and their drivers, with EV sales now reaching 9 per cent of new car sales in the country.

Most fast charging stations are not free, charging between 45c and 90c/kWh, depending on the location, speed, and time of day.

“The offer of free fuel might have made sense in the ICE (internal combustion engine) era, but it’s just not workable in the EV era. Car companies would be better off providing complimentary home charging equipment and subsidised installation costs,” says Jones.