NRMA rescuing electric cars with charger-equipped vans

The NRMA has fitted two roadside assistance vans with trickle charging equipment to rescue electric car owners with a flat battery pack.

Serving NRMA members in Sydney and Canberra, the two patrol vans (i.e. modified utes) are home to 4.8kWh lithium-ion battery packs, which provide 1km of charge every two minutes via AC power.

According to the motoring club, an EV will have 5km of range to get to the nearest public charging station after 10 minutes of topping-up.

But, depending on the location, the vehicle may be towed to the nearest charging station instead.

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There is no extra cost required to cover electric cars with 24/7 roadside assistance and NRMA patrollers are safety-trained to handle the high-voltage equipment.

“We are seeing more and more EV drivers call us for assistance so it’s clear the need for this kind of support is increasing,” NRMA roadside assistance patrol Tim Bryant said.

“The new mobile EV chargers being rolled out in our patrol vans mean we’ll be able to get more cars back on the road faster.

“We know one of the biggest deterrents for those looking to purchase an electric vehicle is range anxiety – will they run out of charge far from charging facilities.”

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The NRMA's new program follows its Queensland and Victoria counterparts, the RACQ and RACV respectively, which offer a similar EV charging rescue service.

The RACQ has equipped its patrol vans and trucks since 2021, while the RACV started trialling it in late 2022 using more compact and faster DC charging units from Melbourne startup Re:Start.

EVDirect CEO Luke Todd also announced on LinkedIn last month that it plans to roll out mobile charging rescue vans this year, dubbed EV2U. EVDirect is the local independent distributor of BYD electric cars.

In 2022, 33,410 new electric vehicles were registered in Australia, representing around three per cent market share. It was spearheaded by the Tesla Model 3 sedan, Model Y SUV and BYD Atto 3 EVs.

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