Australian motoring clubs acquire electric Chargefox network

[charliemagpie]

This, I am sure, is fantastic news for the Australian EV scene. And great work by AMC. Perhaps a heads-up around the world.

AMC (Australian motoring clubs) is a conglomerate of state roadside assistance clubs. They provide a range of services to members who pay a yearly fee. Owned by the members.

I’m not an expert on Chargefox, AMC was a 40% shareholder. There's a vast network of chargers spreading over AU... 22kw to 350kw. I think a hodgepodge of different operators.

AMC I think can be more service oriented rather than profit oriented, maybe opening up to more service providers. Possibly, we will see some gaps in the network actioned sooner. Possibly government more willing to put in more money into a non profit.

Reading blogs, the issue is reliability. There's the charger out of order, forever out of order , or not even there. (same as everywhere I suppose)

My favourite,

As the sole owner, AMC will be responsible for at least overseeing the availability of chargers in its network.
I envisage, as a paying member, should someone roll up to a charger, and it's not working, and no alternatives, 'AMC' will come out, and I foresee charging vehicles at the ready to get you going again. If necessary, accommodation and/or vehicle tow will be provided. As is current practice… depending on your subscription cover.

Bottom line, we are not on our own. If a charger is on the map, we can rely on being assisted should it come to that.

https://www.drive.com.au/news/motoring-clubs-acquire-chargefox-network/

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[HaulingAss]

This, I am sure, is fantastic news for the Australian EV scene. And great work by AMC. Perhaps a heads-up around the world.

AMC (Australian motoring clubs) is a conglomerate of state roadside assistance clubs. They provide a range of services to members who pay a yearly fee. Owned by the members.

I’m not an expert on Chargefox, AMC was a 40% shareholder. There's a vast network of chargers spreading over AU... 22kw to 350kw. I think a hodgepodge of different operators.

AMC I think can be more service oriented rather than profit oriented, maybe opening up to more service providers. Possibly, we will see some gaps in the network actioned sooner. Possibly government more willing to put in more money into a non profit.

Reading blogs, the issue is reliability. There's the charger out of order, forever out of order , or not even there. (same as everywhere I suppose)

My favourite,

As the sole owner, AMC will be responsible for at least overseeing the availability of chargers in its network.
I envisage, as a paying member, should someone roll up to a charger, and it's not working, and no alternatives, 'AMC' will come out, and I foresee charging vehicles at the ready to get you going again. If necessary, accommodation and/or vehicle tow will be provided. As is current practice… depending on your subscription cover.

Bottom line, we are not on our own. If a charger is on the map, we can rely on being assisted should it come to that.

https://www.drive.com.au/news/motoring-clubs-acquire-chargefox-network/

Color me skeptical! The proof will be in the rates of change of new installs and the percentage of uptime of their chargers. If both these things increase in a positive manner after the change in ownership, then we know the motoring clubs are trying to make it better for EV owners and they want to help speed adoption of EV's.

However, if the rate of new installs decline, and the rate of out-of-service chargers increases, then we will know the network was commandeered by forces trying to slow down the adoption of EV's in Australia. It just seems odd to me that a consortium of "motoring clubs" in Austrailia are that interested in increasing the number of EV drivers. Typically, these kinds of clubs are top-heavy with auto dealership owners and the like.