The number of electric cars registered in regional South Australia has grown from just 100 three years ago, to more than 2,000. More charging stations are now being installed outside of the cities and regional businesses say more tourists are stopping to charge up and give the local economy a boost in the process.
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00:00Mount Gambier teacher Chris Jordan bought his electric car in January, and recently
00:06used it to tow a caravan on a holiday around western Victoria.
00:10Yeah, it was pretty easy, it was, there was no real major dramas with it.
00:16He deliberately chose a car that charges quickly, but even so, he's had to find ways to while
00:20away the time in towns he might not otherwise have visited.
00:23I've started writing a list of things that I've done whilst charging, and yeah, go shop
00:29shopping, find somewhere for a coffee or a drink.
00:34That extra stopping time is good news for tourist-focused business owners like Brad
00:37Scott.
00:38He first installed an electric vehicle charger outside his business in Robe in 2019, but
00:43no one used it for the first year it was there.
00:46We had about 40 or 50, 2021, so it's starting to pick up.
00:49People come in here, charge their car, they can walk in for 20 minutes and have a look
00:53around inside.
00:54The RAA has almost completed its rollout of more than 500 chargers across South Australia
00:59using state government funding.
01:01Many other chargers are operated by Tesla or privately owned by accommodation providers.
01:06The RAA's largest electric vehicle charging hub is here in Mount Gambier.
01:11The organisation says its chargers have been used 50,000 times since the network was launched
01:15last year, with about 20% of users from interstate.
01:19Yeah, so with the increase in uptake of EVs, we're certainly seeing an increase in the
01:23usage of the network, roughly 5-10% increase every month.
01:27The Waddle Range Council bought an electric car for its CEO last year as part of a trial
01:32to see how effective they could be in its fleet.
01:35He says it's gone well, apart from when he hit a kangaroo.
01:38The upfront capital cost was a little more than a conventional vehicle, but the operating
01:42costs far outweigh that capital investment over the four-year lifespan we expect to be
01:47operating this vehicle.
01:49About 2,200 electric cars are registered in regional parts of South Australia, up from
01:53just over 100 three years ago.
01:57The Waddle Range Council says it's going to continue to invest in electric cars, and
02:01it's going to continue to invest in electric vehicles.
02:04The Waddle Range Council says it's going to continue to invest in electric cars, and
02:07it's going to continue to invest in electric vehicles.
02:09The Waddle Range Council says it's going to continue to invest in electric cars, and
02:12it's going to continue to invest in electric vehicles.
02:14The Waddle Range Council says it's going to continue to invest in electric cars, and
02:17it's going to continue to invest in electric vehicles.
02:19The Waddle Range Council says it's going to continue to invest in electric cars, and
02:22it's going to continue to invest in electric vehicles.