Tesla's first 4 NZ Superchargers open in Hamilton

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#1730608 5-Mar-2017 23:55

Linuxluver:

I'm told these EV parks are about as far from any internal entrance to the mall proper as you can get.

Nah, they are really near (like next to the parents with pram's or something like that carparks).

I went for a look when I was in hamilton for work last week.

Got photos incl Nameplates of chargers if anybody wants me to post.

In normal tesla fashion, chargers are installed in pairs

There are two actual charger boxes each rated at 135kW. Each box feeds two stalls. Each stall can provide a maximum of 120kW, subject to demand on other stall (I think first car in gets priority, and the second car gets what is left over).

salttlas

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Master Geek

#1751142 31-Mar-2017 13:24

Visit Te Awa mall often for work, and whenever I do, I make a point of driving past the Tesla Superchargers...

There is four, and they the furtherest away from the entrance, escalators and lifts etc...if someone that didnt have a Tesla was to park in one, they would only be doing it to be a complete douche bag. Unlike Wheel Chair, Parents with Prams and Elderly people parking which tends to be close.

The Tesla chargers have always been empty when I drive past, apart from last week, when a nice White P85D was parked up charging. I got out and had a chat with the owner - nice bloke from the Naki. As he pointed out, how convenient to be able to park up and charge for free while having a bite to eat for lunch! A good stop off location in and out of Auckland for sure!

To be able to set these up practically anywhere has a huge advantage over a Petrol Station.

Linuxluver

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#1752805 1-Apr-2017 17:50

salttlas:

Visit Te Awa mall often for work, and whenever I do, I make a point of driving past the Tesla Superchargers...

There is four, and they the furtherest away from the entrance, escalators and lifts etc...if someone that didnt have a Tesla was to park in one, they would only be doing it to be a complete douche bag. Unlike Wheel Chair, Parents with Prams and Elderly people parking which tends to be close.

The Tesla chargers have always been empty when I drive past, apart from last week, when a nice White P85D was parked up charging. I got out and had a chat with the owner - nice bloke from the Naki. As he pointed out, how convenient to be able to park up and charge for free while having a bite to eat for lunch! A good stop off location in and out of Auckland for sure!

To be able to set these up practically anywhere has a huge advantage over a Petrol Station.

Hamilton is actually good location for a Tesla driver with 500km range driving from Auckland to anywhere else southward on the North Island. Or in reverse.

You'd leave Auckland and drive to Hamilton - top off - and then drive to Napier, New Plymouth, Palmy....all in easy range. For one location, it's a great one.

That's going to be the thing about EVs with huge batteries. For moving around NZ they really will only be 5 - 10 supercharger sites......and the whole country is covered.....because most people charge up at home. You only use these when travelling longer distance in a day. Very UN-like petrol stations, which everyone needs all the time.

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Linuxluver

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#1752806 1-Apr-2017 17:51

Scott3:

Linuxluver:

I'm told these EV parks are about as far from any internal entrance to the mall proper as you can get.

Nah, they are really near (like next to the parents with pram's or something like that carparks).

I went for a look when I was in hamilton for work last week.

Got photos incl Nameplates of chargers if anybody wants me to post.

In normal tesla fashion, chargers are installed in pairs

There are two actual charger boxes each rated at 135kW. Each box feeds two stalls. Each stall can provide a maximum of 120kW, subject to demand on other stall (I think first car in gets priority, and the second car gets what is left over).

Agreed it's not a great distance, but they are in a corner at the end......

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Geektastic

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#1757428 6-Apr-2017 11:16

How much do the cars cost in NZ?

And why Hamilton not Auckland? I thought the cars were expensive and Hamilton certainly does not have the reputation of being a place full of wealthy people wanting to demonstrate their wealth and status with their car choice. Auckland, however....does.

salttlas

71 posts

Master Geek

#1757496 6-Apr-2017 13:13

Geektastic:

How much do the cars cost in NZ?

They range in cost, from around $140K to $250K depending on Battery Capacity, Dual Motor/Single Motor, Auto Pilot Hardware/Software and a raft of other options... If you want the top model, a P100D with Ludicrous Mode (i think it can now do zero to 100km/h in under 2.5sec), you wont get much back from $250K

And why Hamilton not Auckland? I thought the cars were expensive and Hamilton certainly does not have the reputation of being a place full of wealthy people wanting to demonstrate their wealth and status with their car choice. Auckland, however....does.

This is all about range and access to the rest of NZ, well the North Is.

If you own one in Auckland, which as you mention has the wealth etc, then you charge at home and have range of 500km+ so no need for superchargers in Auckland (yet). However Hamilton is very central. If you live north of Auckland, you leave home with a full charge, and then stop in Hamilton for Lunch and a recharge, before you access the rest of the North Is. Or if you live central to lower NI, you do the same when going to Auckland etc.

The plan is to scatter these along SH1, but at the moment, Hamilton is a very logical choice for the first location...

Wade

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#1757576 6-Apr-2017 14:31

How will these charging stations cope once the EV pool increases? Sylvia park has two spots and have regularly seen both in use, at first they were empty 99.9% of the time (situated close to entrance also :P )

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salttlas

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Master Geek

#1757592 6-Apr-2017 14:43

Wade:
How will these charging stations cope once the EV pool increases? Sylvia park has two spots and have regularly seen both in use, at first they were empty 99.9% of the time (situated close to entrance also :P )

I can't comment on all EV charging stations, but the ones discussed here are only for Tesla's. There are four chargers which should cope for quite sometime with the number of Tesla's in NZ now and probably for quite some time.

I know in the states, you are charged for parking in a supercharging spot if your car has finished charging. So you can't simply park there for as long as your shopping trip!

MikeAqua

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#1757600 6-Apr-2017 14:51

Shouldn't they be locating these on the new bypass. I know Te Rapa isn't that far from it.

But why divert into Hamilton at all vs fill up and go somewhere beside the highway?

Ditto Auckland. Why on K-Road vs one of the motorway service centres?

Mike

salttlas

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Master Geek

#1757603 6-Apr-2017 14:58

MikeAqua:

Shouldn't they be locating these on the new bypass. I know Te Rapa isn't that far from it.

But why divert into Hamilton at all vs fill up and go somewhere beside the highway?

Ditto Auckland. Why on K-Road vs one of the motorway service centres?

Retail Shopping Centre probably has something to do with it.

It takes a while to charge - even with a Supercharger. So they will want these attached to some sort of Food / Retail offering

No one will want to stand around on the side of a motorway for 30mins while their car charges.

Linuxluver

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#1757790 6-Apr-2017 20:18

MikeAqua:

Shouldn't they be locating these on the new bypass. I know Te Rapa isn't that far from it.

But why divert into Hamilton at all vs fill up and go somewhere beside the highway?

Ditto Auckland. Why on K-Road vs one of the motorway service centres?

They also have to locate them where there is electrical infrastructure sufficient to power them.

The Superchargers in Hamilton have a couple of fairly large - what I assume - are battery storage units...so they can deliver 120kw DC to a Tesla while charging the battery storage at 50kwDC (or 63kw - whatever is locally available).

They don't install this level of power reticulation by the road side in NZ. That limit the selection for locations........unless you want to spend a huge sum of money building a new high tension power network to random roadside locations. NZ isn't that well wired. :-)

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wellygary

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#1757797 6-Apr-2017 20:44

salttlas:
MikeAqua:

Shouldn't they be locating these on the new bypass. I know Te Rapa isn't that far from it.

But why divert into Hamilton at all vs fill up and go somewhere beside the highway?

Ditto Auckland. Why on K-Road vs one of the motorway service centres?

Retail Shopping Centre probably has something to do with it.

It's probably a nice spot to advertise your premium car brand too

Geektastic

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#1757949 7-Apr-2017 09:33

salttlas:
MikeAqua:

Shouldn't they be locating these on the new bypass. I know Te Rapa isn't that far from it.

But why divert into Hamilton at all vs fill up and go somewhere beside the highway?

Ditto Auckland. Why on K-Road vs one of the motorway service centres?

Retail Shopping Centre probably has something to do with it.

It takes a while to charge - even with a Supercharger. So they will want these attached to some sort of Food / Retail offering

No one will want to stand around on the side of a motorway for 30mins while their car charges.

A UK style bacon buttie van in the lay-by should solve that! 😀

Geektastic

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#1757950 7-Apr-2017 09:35

wellygary:
salttlas:
MikeAqua:

Shouldn't they be locating these on the new bypass. I know Te Rapa isn't that far from it.

But why divert into Hamilton at all vs fill up and go somewhere beside the highway?

Ditto Auckland. Why on K-Road vs one of the motorway service centres?

Retail Shopping Centre probably has something to do with it.

It's probably a nice spot to advertise your premium car brand too

From reputation I would think a central Hamilton location was a more appropriate location to advertise stab proof vests and Mace....!

BlueShift

1692 posts

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#1757975 7-Apr-2017 09:59

Linuxluver:

MikeAqua:

Shouldn't they be locating these on the new bypass. I know Te Rapa isn't that far from it.

But why divert into Hamilton at all vs fill up and go somewhere beside the highway?

Ditto Auckland. Why on K-Road vs one of the motorway service centres?

They also have to locate them where there is electrical infrastructure sufficient to power them.

The Superchargers in Hamilton have a couple of fairly large - what I assume - are battery storage units...so they can deliver 120kw DC to a Tesla while charging the battery storage at 50kwDC (or 63kw - whatever is locally available).

They don't install this level of power reticulation by the road side in NZ. That limit the selection for locations........unless you want to spend a huge sum of money building a new high tension power network to random roadside locations. NZ isn't that well wired. :-)

That makes sense, the electrical layout in that area is pretty robust - its about 500m from the Kapua datacenter which has pretty high-end electron requirements.

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