Tesla plans Supercharger network expansion

IN ANTICIPATION of the release of its first mass-market vehicle, the Model 3, Californian EV giant Tesla is planning a major expansion of its Supercharger network that will see the number of stations double globally by the end of 2017.

At the start of this year, the total global number of Superchargers stood at more than 5000, and by the end of this year the company hopes to double that number to more than 10,000.

Tesla’s Australian arm is also looking to expand its network of superchargers to include links between Melbourne and Adelaide, further stations between Melbourne and Sydney and along the eastern seaboard, as well as the first ever Supercharger stations in Queensland and Western Australia.

Between the country’s two biggest cities, new stations will be built in the New South Wales towns of Cooma, Bathurst and Nowra, while Euroa in Victoria’s north will add a second station.

Further north, a new station will be added to the existing site in Coffs Harbour, while Queensland will get its first Superchargers in Brisbane and Gympie.

To connect Tesla drivers commuting between Adelaide and Melbourne, new stations will go up along the Western Highway at Horsham in Victoria’s west, and the South Australian town of Keith, marking the first South Australian Supercharger station.

Tesla owners wanting to experience Victoria’s Great Ocean Road can now do so worry-free with the inclusion of a station in the Surf Coast town of Lorne.

And Western Australian owners looking to spend a day down in Margaret River will be able to do so when a station is erected in Bunbury, about two hour’s drive south of Perth.

Eleven new stations in total are set to be built in Australia this year, which will almost double the overall number to 23.

The rapid expansion of its charging network is due to the upcoming arrival of Tesla’s first mass-market vehicle, the Model 3 mid-size hatch, which is set to arrive in Australia either late this year or early 2018.

Nowhere is the expansion more obvious than in Tesla’s native California, where 1000 Superchargers are set to be installed.

Tesla also offers a destination charging network, where the car-maker teams up with businesses such as hotels, restaurants and shopping centres to provide charging stations for the electric vehicles. More than 250 such stations currently exist in Australia.

Tesla is aiming to produce 500,000 vehicles per year by 2018, comprising of the Model 3, Model S sedan and Model X SUV.

Currently, Tesla offers free charging from its Supercharger network for the first 400kWh, which comes out to around 1609km of driving range, per year.

After that, customers are charged 35 cents for every kWh used. The annual 400kWh allowance does not roll over at the end of the year, which is marked by the anniversary of the vehicle’s purchase.

Customers who ordered their vehicle before January 15, 2017 are afforded free Supercharger use for the life of their vehicle.