Gas station owner: Retail experience is key to attracting electric vehicle drivers to fast chargers

According to listed petrol station operator Viva Energy, it will take about five years for electric vehicles (EVs) to take up a significant share of the Australian car market. The group is focusing on First, ensure that electric vehicle owners have a decent place to shop while they wait.

CEO Scott Wyatt says tThe company plans to invest in electric vehicle chargers “in parallel” with improving its retail branches at gas stations.

Wyatt estimated that Viva’s nationwide rollout of chargers about five years, which reflects the “logical” rate of adoption of electric vehicles in Australia.

Electric vehicles currently make up about 0.9 percent of Australia’s total vehicle fleet, but their rapid growth means their numbers are quickly outpacing the number of available fast chargers, according to data from Ampol.

Viva Energy made its first foray into electric vehicle charging last year, promising to provide 30 charging stations for Shell-branded petrol stations in New South Wales (NSW) over several years.

According to a Viva Energy spokesman, about 26 of them are expected to be operational by early 2025, but the goal is to deliver all 30.

The project is funded by the New South Wales Government with $14.7 million.. It was not mentioned in the official part of the results conference call.

“We have been working on our EV solution for some time and now with the support of the New South Wales Government we can proceed with its rollout,” Wyatt said in response to a question from The Driven.

He said that given the long charging times for electric vehicles, the company needed to offer its customers a “compelling retail offer”.

Viva Energy currently operates 14 charging stations for Evie Networks and six charging stations it has acquired through its newly acquired OTR brand, a spokesman said. The Driven.

“If you include all the charging points in our petrol station network, we will have around 50 charging points in operation by the beginning of 2025,” he said.

Slow rollout

Petrol station operators have been slow to respond to the expansion of charging infrastructure for electric vehicles; Ampol recently blamed problems connecting its charging stations to the power grid.

The fuel retailer says these delays mean its 300 charging stations will not be fully operational until 2025. The company had only added 38 stations to the national charging fleet by August.

Viva Energy’s NSW project combines four charging stations with solar panels and a battery at each site to reduce grid strain – a measure the NRMA has already taken to circumvent grid connection issues.

The company spokesman said the rollout of the NSW chargers had been challenging but “things are going relatively smoothly”.

Other priorities

But with two major acquisitions this year, in the form of Given Viva Energy’s acquisition of convenience stores Coles Express and OTR Group and the debt it took on to achieve these, the company’s priorities are to integrate them while reducing expenses.

The company said Australians are spending less money, with fuel and store sales for both brands falling by five per cent last year and tobacco sales falling by 17 per cent across the company.

And to offset the additional debt the group took on to buy the retail branches, it has cut its capital spending by 10 percent for next year, leaving less money for non-priority projects.

This year, the energy transition plans are clearly focused on the hydrogen refuelling station for heavy-duty vehicles in Geelong rather than on charging electric vehicles for private customers.

The hydrogen filling station for heavy vehicles financed by ARENA is scheduled to go into operation in early 2025, and an associated electric charging station is also planned.

Rachel Williamson is a science and business journalist focusing on health and environmental issues related to climate change.