MG will give away a further 3000 electric vehicle (EV) wall boxes to Australian and New Zealand hotels and resorts over the next three years, and slash the price of installation.
The brand says it will charge just $330 for installation and waive the price of up to 3000 AC wall box units (7.0kW single-phase or 11kW three-phase) at up to 1000 locations in “metro centres”.
This represents a saving of up to $1660 off RRP per unit, says the company, which claims to be motivated by a desire to encourage EV adoption across Australia.
The software on the chargers allows operators to make them free, or to charge guests for access.
Other EV makers Tesla and Porsche have also invested in networks of destination chargers at hotels, wineries, and restaurants around Australia.
Unlike public DC charge networks such as Evie or ChargeFox, these destination charger networks are generally made up of slower 7.7kW or 11kW AC wall boxes.
“In Australia, purchase price is the biggest barrier to adoption of electric vehicles, closely followed by concern at the lack of public charging infrastructure,” said MG Australia CEO, Peter Ciao.
“The extension of our Hotel ChargeHub Partner Program demonstrates our commitment to supporting Australian communities, by providing businesses and consumers alike with the necessary infrastructure to support the transition to electric.”
The latest MG charger rollout, which focuses on metro areas, follows in the footsteps a 2021 program that will see up to 3000 wall boxes rolled out across four-star resorts and hotels in rural Australia.
It also comes hot on the heels of the updated MG ZS EV’s arrival in Australia.
With a starting price of $44,990 drive-away for the MG ZS EV Excite – down from the $46,990 drive-away sticker announced in March – the ZS undercuts the BYD Atto 3 in every state barring Tasmania, making it the nation’s cheapest electric car.
Where MG absorbs the difference in on-road costs such as stamp duty and registration to offer a nationwide drive-away price, the BYD sticker is different depending on where you’re buying it.
“We have been successful in offering the Australian market unparalleled value and we are now entering a new phase of our growth with the new ZS EV. This is the first step in our new journey to an electric future that’s here today, said MG Australia CEO Peter Ciao.
“While value will remain at the core of our product offering, value means different things to different people and we want to deliver that value to as many people as we can.”
