Chargefox and Evie Networks are the two biggest open to everyone electric car fast public charging networks in Australia, so if you buy or hire an electric car you’ll likely use a mixture of charging stations run by them.
There are a few ways to save money when using a Chargefox or Evie charger:
Chargefox
The easiest way to save money at a ChargeFox charger is if you’re a member of one of Australia’s roadside assistance car clubs such as the NRMA or RACV.
Obviously there is a cost to joining these car clubs so you have to consider what they offer as member benefits vs what they charge you per year.
Members of these car clubs can enter their member number into the Chargefox app and then get a 20% discount at Chargefox fast 50 kW and 350 kW stations that are run directly by the company.
If a ChargeFox location offers a discount it will clearly be shown in their app as you can see in the screenshots below.
If there’s no 20% off discount logo the price is the same whether you’re a car club member or not.
The second way to save at Chargefox locations is if you have bought a car from a brand that has a partnership with ChargeFox eg Audi e-tron owners get 6 years free unlimited charging at all Chargefox owned sites up to 350kW and some other Chargefox operated sites.
The third way to save is by choosing 50kW charging speed.
Usually 50 kW chargers cost about 1/3rd less than 350kW charging ports. Most Australian electric cars on the road at the moment charge at a top speed of 80-170kW and that’s only for the first few dozen percent starting from nearly empty.
Evie
There are two main ways to save at an Evie charger.
The easiest for everyone is choosing an Evie location that offers 50kW charging speed. Currently Evie 50 kW chargers cost 40c/kWh which is 1/3rd less than their 350kW locations that charge 60c/kWh.
As an example in Sydney Evie HS016 Seven Hills charges 60c/kWh for 350kW and seven kilometres away Evie MS024 HomeCo charges 40c/kWh for 50kW.
Most Australian electric cars on the road at the moment charge at a top speed of 80-170kW and that’s only from roughly 0-30% starting from nearly empty.
The second way to save at Evie chargers is if you sign up and settle an electric vehicle loan with Pepper Money.
That loan comes with a bonus of 12 months recharging (up to 2000 kilowatt hours) at any Evie charging station across Australia.
Obviously consider your personal financial circumstances and other options very carefully before taking out a car loan.
Which do you prefer?
Do you prefer Evie, Chargefox or just use whatever brand of public charger is convenient for you to access?
