After a successful pilot programme in Wellington, the New Zealand Automobile Association (AA) has launched two road service vans in Auckland which can recharge stranded electric vehicles belonging to its members.
AA chief executive Nadine Tereora told Auto Media Group the Wellington pilot saw more than 60 EV related road service call outs and she says supporting Auckland members with this service should ease their anxiety about range.
“We in the business of mobility and therefore we must be thought leaders for our membership, and make things easy for them,” Tereora says.
She says that people have great trust and confidence in the AA brand, which encompasses much more than roadside rescue and battery services.
“People believe if the AA is doing something such as mobile EV charging, then it must be safe and it must be okay. They have huge trust in our brand,” she says.
The vans are fitted with lightweight EV chargers which, in 20-25 minutes, will enable enough charge to drive up to 10 kilometres so AA members can reach their home or a nearby charging station if they break down on the roadside.
These vans will raise the total fleet number to three, joining the existing Wellington mobile EV charger van which launched in 2020. A fourth van will be introduced to Christchurch later in 2022.
AA Battery Service national operations manager Graeme Fariu says some EV drivers may be unaware that running their air conditioning and head lights all contribute to the amount of charge they have left, and they could get caught short on their journeys.
“We hope introducing the mobile charging vans to Auckland will give EV owners some peace-of-mind that if they run out of charge, we are here to help.”
As of July 2022, New Zealand has more than 46,000 registered EVs and the AA says numbers are only growing.
“We hope the new availability of the vans may be a swing factor for Aucklanders in the market for an EV who were perhaps hesitant on making the switch due to concerns surrounding availability of charging infrastructure and range,” Fariu says.
“New Zealand is moving towards a higher uptake in EVs partly driven by the Clean Car discount and we are pleased to expand our road service offering to cater for these vehicles.”
The vans are available to AA Members between 7am and 11pm, 365 days of the year at no additional cost. When not attending EV jobs, the vans will also attend battery-related breakdowns of internal combustion engine vehicles.
