MG to put EV charging at NZ hotels

Following the successful introduction of an Australian scheme, MG Motor says it will be rolling out a similar EV charging network in New Zealand.

The network will follow the same model in Australia, in that charging locations will predominantly be based at hotels around the country. Hotels have the chance to opt into the scheme, which MG calls the MG ChargeHub subsidy programme.

The programme offers hotel owners one of two possible fitted charging units, a 7kW single-phase charger or a 11kW three-phase charger at a “heavily subsidised” cost.

MG says that the two charging units typically retail for $2090 and $2290, respectively, but are available for hotels that opt into the scheme for a mere $115 one-off administration fee.

Each charger is compatible with any Type-2 port electric vehicle, including MG’s ZS EV and HS PHEV.

With the number of electric vehicles on the road growing, and more EV owners using their plug-ins for road trips around the country, demand for a more robust and well supported national charging network has increased exponentially.

“MG firmly believes a customer should be able to travel to the same location in an Electric Vehicle as they can in a petrol-powered car,” says MG Motor Australia and New Zealand chief executive Peter Ciao.

“Our goal is to reduce an EV owner’s range anxiety on long trips, lower vehicle emissions and increase greener ways to travel. […] The hotel subsidy programme is MG’s way of contributing to making EVs normal.”

MG first announced the programme last November, launching it in Australia. It says that 100 hotels over the ditch have already applied for the programme, adding that it expects that number to swell to 300 by the end of 2022.

Given that EVs have a stronger presence in New Zealand, it’s likely that the programme will prove to be even more popular here. The initiative will be capped at 3000 chargers.

Hotel owners wanting to apply for a charger can do so online, at mgelectric.co.nz.