ChargeNet Charging Station - ChargeNet Charging Station 167 Glasgow Street

Changing the tune of Kiwi driving habits

ChargeNet’s ultimate goal is to drive the transition to a more sustainable transport and mobility future. It’s about encouraging the uptake of electric vehicles. It is nonsensical to import fuel costing the country billions of dollars, when we can create electricity at a quarter of that cost. Especially when the vast majority of our electricity is made from sunshine, wind and rain. Light vehicle emissions cause over 30% of New Zealand’s greenhouse gases. So, it’s important to transform this sector if we want to achieve our goal of becoming CO2 neutral by 2050. It’s a race we can win.

The Wild West

The story behind ChargeNet is one that flows naturally from green tech into the automotive space. It illustrates the scope of the Kiwi ingenuity and perseverance. It’s our ‘number 8 fencing wire philosophy’ of not relying on the rest of the world to solve our problems. Way back in 2015, ChargeNet CEO and founder Steve West recognised a problem in New Zealand. The only places EV owners could charge their cars were at home, at a campground, or by hanging a cord out a window. That situation meant owning an electric car was not practical for unexpected mileage, nor for holidays. It was a ‘chicken and egg’ situation. Nobody was willing to install the charging stations when there were so few customers, and few were willing to buy an electric car without the charging infrastructure to support them.

“I get annoyed when the things I’m passionate about have problems, so I look for ways to solve them.” says Steve West, CEO and Founder of ChargeNet.

The solution was obvious. New Zealand needed a nationwide network of rapid charging stations.

Where there’s a West, there’s a way

If it is important to reduce our nation’s transport emissions, then it is important to invest in supporting technology so that electric mobility is a viable option.

After much blood, sweat and tears, ChargeNet’s goal to have 74 charging sites by 2019 has well and truly been realised. The team has now installed a comprehensive network­­ — more than 280 rapid charging stations and hundreds of public and private AC chargers. We are also enormously proud of our very supportive customer base.

Our purpose is to make charging simple and accessible. To us, this means introducing Kiwis to straightforward charging technology that enables EV drivers to travel the country with confidence and convenience.

The key to our company’s success has been the clever software that enables the stations to recoup costs by billing the users. No mean feat by any stretch of the imagination. In addition, we are determined to continue innovating and improving.

Chargers, Software and Services with Kiwi businesses in mind

“ChargeNet is committed to providing and maintaining a world-class EV charging network to keep New Zealand charging into the future,” says Steve West, CEO & Founder of ChargeNet. 

We’re also enabling NZ businesses to embrace a sustainable future by providing reliable, smart and accessible charging solutions that are simple for them to deploy. Mobility is life: reliable, smart and sustainable.