THE co-founder and CEO of Australia’s biggest EV charging network, Chargefox, has announced he will step down from his position at the end of February 2023.

The announcement was made by Australian Motoring Services (AMS), which bought Chargefox in May this year.

AMS is wholly owned by the Australian Mobility Clubs (NRMA, RACV, RACQ, RAC, RAA and RACT). In May, AMS increased its minority shareholding in Chargefox and wholly acquired the remaining shares to become the sole owner of the business.

Chargefox was founded by Mr Andrews, Tim Washington and Mark Wells in 2017 and has grown the business exponentially to become Australia’s largest EV charging network. The three founders were listed in the Top 100 Innovators 2022 by The Australian newspaper.

Commenting on his resignation, Mr Andrews said: “I initially started Chargefox to show my children that you can change the world and make it a better place.

“As a team, we have done a tremendous amount of work to build Australia’s EV backbone to support a cleaner future.

“The accelerated rollout of the network enables further local and long-distance EV travel, giving more Australian EV drivers better access to world-leading charging technology right across the country.”

Mr Andrews remains investment director of Cogent Ventures.

He said that AMS has always been part of the Chargefox family and as an early investor it was clear that they shared a mission to leave a cleaner future for the next generation of Australians.

“I have every confidence that AMS and Chargefox will enjoy success for many years to come,” he said.

AMS Group CEO Michael Reed also acknowledged AMS’s long-standing partnership with Chargefox.

“It’s been a pleasure working closely with Marty Andrews and the board of Chargefox for the last five years,” Mr Reed said.

“AMS will commence the search for a new CEO to lead Chargefox. We are proud of the Chargefox legacy and are united in our goal to provide the very best service and support to Australian EV drivers.”

Chargefox is the biggest and fastest growing open charging network in Australia for modern EVs.

It has been operating charging stations across Australia and New Zealand since late 2017 and has managed more than 500,000 charging sessions on more than 2500 plugs, dispensing a total of over 7.0GWh of electricity for drivers via its iPhone and Android mobile apps – which it said was enough electricity to power the average household for 1400 years.

Chargefox’s multiple partnerships with car manufacturers enable Australians to purchase an EV backed by the Chargefox network.

The freely-available Chargefox app also helps users easily find, use and pay for charging across hundreds of stations in Australia and New Zealand.

By Neil Dowling