Charging boost for EVs

The government has announced 25 new high-speed electric vehicle (EV) charging hubs will be installed along key routes between major urban centres.

Simeon Brown, the minister of energy and transport, says the hubs will each be capable of charging at least four – and up to 10 – vehicles at once, as well as being located close to amenities.

Details of where the hubs have yet to be revealed but the government has also outlined plans to improve New Zealand’s EV infrastructure.

“New Zealanders considering an EV need confidence they can charge where and when they need on the public network,” explains Brown. 

“The government is committed to working with industry to supercharge public EV infrastructure to remove range anxiety and make owning an EV as easy as possible.”

The government plans to have 10,000 EV charging points across the country by 2030 as part of its bid to reduce net greenhouse gas emissions, which is aligned with its net zero 2050 goal.

As a result, cabinet has agreed to create a new model to support investment in EV charging infrastructure in New Zealand.

It includes developing a cost-benefit framework for government co-investment in public EV chargers, consistent with the National-Act coalition agreement, and transitioning the co-investment model to maximise private investment. Decisions on the scheme will be confirmed late this year.

Also on the agenda is reducing red tape and regulation, including removing the requirement for resource consent for the installation of public EV chargers.

Other features of the government’s model will be:

• Enabling standards to improve consumers’ capability to shift home EV charging demand away from network “peaks”.

• Working with the Electricity Authority to tackle barriers such as connection costs and ensuring consistent approaches to EV charging connections across all 29 electricity distributors.

• Establishing a cross-agency taskforce featuring the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment, the Ministry of Transport and the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority, and Crown infrastructure partners to drive the work programme and engage with industry.