The Scentre Group is the owner and operator of Westfield in Australia and New Zealand. The company has interests in 40 shopping centres encompassing some 11,670 retail outlets and assets under management of over $40 billion.
The plan is to install four ChargePoint’s Level 2 charging stations at each location. These are fitted with a J1772 connector that is compatible with almost all EVs. However, Tesla owners will need to make other arrangements or buy an aftermarket adapter to use these facilities.
Use of the charging stations is open to the owners of any EV (not just BMW’s), free of charge, in a move that Westfield hopes will see its centres become the shopping destination of choice for EV owners.
There are currently around 8000 EVs on Australian roads and sales are steadily increasing. By some estimates that number will rise to about 35,000 EVs by 2024.
The advent of EVs has long raised a chicken versus egg scenario.
Which comes first, the EVs or the infrastructure? Clearly, the more charging stations there are available, the easier it will be to drive an EV with less concern over being caught out with a flat battery.
Better infrastructure also makes EVs a more saleable proposition.
“We’re very excited to partner with BMW Group Australia to bring such a comprehensive network of EV charging stations to our customers,” said Scentre Group general manager Tim Roberts.
“This is all about convenience for the growing number of EV drivers in our local communities. EV drivers will be able to identify charging station locations in our centres via the ChargePoint app, online or through their BMW navigation system.”
BMW, along with a number of other brands is, steadily becoming more active in offering a range of either pure electric or plug-in hybrid vehicles in Australia.
“The new charging stations at Westfield locations is another way BMW is providing mobility solutions to our customers as BMW i electric vehicles gain momentum in the Australian market,” said BMW Group Australia chief executive officer Marc Werner.
All BMW i series owners receive a ChargePoint card with their vehicle that provides them access to the ChargePoint network, which is mostly free.
The need for more charging infrastructure will only heighten as EVs gain traction in the market, especially given the time it usually takes to fully charge their batteries.
For example, these new ChargePoint stations are 240 volt AC units that, depending on the specific EV, can easily take at least four or five hours to “fill them up”.
Access to the Westfield charging stations is on a first come first served basis.
The new charging station locations for New South Wales are: Bondi Junction, Chatswood, Miranda, Parramatta, Sydney CBD and Warringah Mall. In Queensland they are at Carindale and Chermside, while in Victoria they can be found at the Doncaster and Southland complexes.
By Daniel Cotterill
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