EV (electric vehicle) News and Discussion

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#3419280 27-Sep-2025 20:04

Benoire:

Looking at a used EV for general second car usage - family doesn't like the look of the leaf so we're looking at alternatives - budget will stretch to 2020 egolf, MG5 etc. We're seeing a bunch of imported EVs from Japan and wondered if they could be easily switched to NZ without hacking or changes to the car apart from in the settings. I had BMW 550i that was imported and it required a 'hack' to make it all work in english and would rather not go through that again.

ta

Chris

what is the budget? what is the distance it needs to be able to go? that will influence what you can get.

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#3419283 27-Sep-2025 20:10

Benoire:

Looking at a used EV for general second car usage - family doesn't like the look of the leaf so we're looking at alternatives - budget will stretch to 2020 egolf, MG5 etc. We're seeing a bunch of imported EVs from Japan and wondered if they could be easily switched to NZ without hacking or changes to the car apart from in the settings. I had BMW 550i that was imported and it required a 'hack' to make it all work in english and would rather not go through that again.

ta

Chris

Bigger concern than the radio and info screen being in Japanese is the charge plug on the imported cars. Tesla is the worst with it having NACS which is not here, but most of the others will be type 1 and chademo like all the leafs, this means pulling up to a friends place and charging is unlikly unless they also own an import, and the selection of public charges is dire.

Richard rich.ms

Jase2985

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#3419287 27-Sep-2025 20:26

richms:

Benoire:

Looking at a used EV for general second car usage - family doesn't like the look of the leaf so we're looking at alternatives - budget will stretch to 2020 egolf, MG5 etc. We're seeing a bunch of imported EVs from Japan and wondered if they could be easily switched to NZ without hacking or changes to the car apart from in the settings. I had BMW 550i that was imported and it required a 'hack' to make it all work in english and would rather not go through that again.

ta

Chris

but most of the others will be type 1 and chademo like all the leafs, this means pulling up to a friends place and charging is unlikly unless they also own an import, and the selection of public charges is dire.

that's a little bit of an exaggeration.

type 1 to 2 adapters are cheap, and there is about 1 chademo to every 3 CCS chargers at most chargers.

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#3419288 27-Sep-2025 20:28

MikeFly:

I think it would be a good idea overseas on right hand side of the road, especially if you are not used to that.

Main concern here in NZ is how would it know when to smoke the Subarus at the lights?

There's a NZ guy posting youtubes of his FSD trips - mostly looks really good but at least one incidence of not stopping at an intersection that had to be overridden. It really is supervised only and as good as it is, anyone using it unsupervised is going to crash.

Benoire

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#3419289 27-Sep-2025 20:30

richms:

Benoire:

Looking at a used EV for general second car usage - family doesn't like the look of the leaf so we're looking at alternatives - budget will stretch to 2020 egolf, MG5 etc. We're seeing a bunch of imported EVs from Japan and wondered if they could be easily switched to NZ without hacking or changes to the car apart from in the settings. I had BMW 550i that was imported and it required a 'hack' to make it all work in english and would rather not go through that again.

ta

Chris

Bigger concern than the radio and info screen being in Japanese is the charge plug on the imported cars. Tesla is the worst with it having NACS which is not here, but most of the others will be type 1 and chademo like all the leafs, this means pulling up to a friends place and charging is unlikly unless they also own an import, and the selection of public charges is dire.

oh tell me more? I have a Evnex E2 Plus charger installed (doing large outdoor works including carport so installed at same time) which is Type 2. Still got a final payment for our works and then we'll see how much we can focus on a car.. but $25K potentially up to $30k.

This is a second car for running around Auckland, we have our Audi S4 as the long distance gas guzzler so range is not so important.

everettpsycho

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#3419295 27-Sep-2025 21:07

richms:

Benoire:

Looking at a used EV for general second car usage - family doesn't like the look of the leaf so we're looking at alternatives - budget will stretch to 2020 egolf, MG5 etc. We're seeing a bunch of imported EVs from Japan and wondered if they could be easily switched to NZ without hacking or changes to the car apart from in the settings. I had BMW 550i that was imported and it required a 'hack' to make it all work in english and would rather not go through that again.

ta

Chris

Bigger concern than the radio and info screen being in Japanese is the charge plug on the imported cars. Tesla is the worst with it having NACS which is not here, but most of the others will be type 1 and chademo like all the leafs, this means pulling up to a friends place and charging is unlikly unless they also own an import, and the selection of public charges is dire.

Definitely avoid nacs but there emis still a decent amount of chasemo out there. I'm interested to see how it plays out as the balance on fast chargers is already shifting to more ccs than chademo, but if we are going to continue importing from Japan that primarily uses chasemo will we either see imports reduce as we can't charge them or chademo needing ongoing support. Given the make up of our car market I'm not sure I see chademo disappearing anytime soon.

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#3419301 27-Sep-2025 22:51

Jase2985:

that's a little bit of an exaggeration.

type 1 to 2 adapters are cheap, and there is about 1 chademo to every 3 CCS chargers at most chargers.

Friends leaf experience with a couple of adapters is that they heat up, something in them trips out and charging just stops - no graceful reduction in current, just a "oops, its stopped" and then when it cools back down and reconnects whatever it is, charging doesn't restart because something has errored out between the 2 which needs a full unplug and replug. Full cable on a detachable type 2 charger works fine.

Richard rich.ms

Scott3

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#3419302 28-Sep-2025 01:17

Benoire:

richms:

Bigger concern than the radio and info screen being in Japanese is the charge plug on the imported cars. Tesla is the worst with it having NACS which is not here, but most of the others will be type 1 and chademo like all the leafs, this means pulling up to a friends place and charging is unlikly unless they also own an import, and the selection of public charges is dire.

oh tell me more? I have a Evnex E2 Plus charger installed (doing large outdoor works including carport so installed at same time) which is Type 2. Still got a final payment for our works and then we'll see how much we can focus on a car.. but $25K potentially up to $30k.

This is a second car for running around Auckland, we have our Audi S4 as the long distance gas guzzler so range is not so important.

In NZ, for AC charging (home, workplace, hotel etc), there are two vehicle side socket types.

Type 1 - The socket design supports higher power single phase charging (but I have never seen a vehicle in this part of the world that charges at more than 7.2 kW single phase), but does not support 3 phase. Every (non tesla) car sold new in japan has this plug type, along with a bunch of older NZ new plug in cars (Old shape Nissan leaf, Older Mitsubishi outlander, Holden Volt etc)>

Type 2, Basically everything modern NZ new

Note that NZ New, Tesla's use the type 2 port above, But in Japan they used the NACS port (labeled as Tesla at the bottom of the list below).

https://www.nzta.govt.nz/planning-and-investment/planning/transport-planning/planning-for-electric-vehicles/national-guidance-for-public-electric-vehicle-charging-infrastructure/charging-point-connectors-and-socket-outlets

The Evnex E2 Plus charger comes with a tethered type 2 plug, so will not directly fit a type 1 car.

EVnex does offer a cable swap service if you wanted to change this across to type 1.

I have a charger which has a socket on it, so I can use my cord to charge my leaf (type 1), and simply unplug the entire cord, and have family members plug in their public charging cord when they visit with their type 2 EV.

Adapters (not supplied by the vehicle manufacturer), aren't meant to be used in NZ under the worksafe guidelines. I have one that looks like the below. Have only used it a handful of times. Saved my bacon once. They are like $50.

Roughly 1/3rd of EV's in NZ are type 1.

Government guideline for public charging is to have a type 2 socket (BYO cord) charger. This means that both type 1 & type 2 cars can bring a cord with the correct end for their car and charge.

Some public AC charging charging stations follow these guidelines. Some (knowing that not every EV owner bothers to buy the ~$270 public charge cord), provide a mix of type 1 & type 2 cords. And some just provide type 2.

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Generally the socket for fast charging is more of a concern (but not in your case). CCS2 fast charge ports are getting much more common than CHAdeMO ports (Japan imports, all Lead, all Lexus UX300e have CHADEMO).

Note CCS2 is a type 2 AC port with a couple of extra pins under it, that are only used for DC charging

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On language translation, basically none of the Japanese imports have the ability to simply switch to English.

But for a lot of models, it is just a few hundred dollars to have somebody reprogram it into English for you. (BMW is one of the easier models as it can be done via "coding" I think) - But if you don't want this, stick to NZ new or ex UK cars.

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As for car selection, Your budget, and lack of concern about range / out of town trips opens up a few options:

Mazda MX-30 EV
Widely panned by the EV community for (given $74,990 price) having low range (210 kM WLTP), and Slow fast charging (40 kW Max).
But given you don't care about range or fast charging, this means you can pick up a 2023 with just 10,500 km for $27k.
The Tamaki is a very nice spec too. Vegan leather, bose audo, 360 camera, HUD, power drivers seat with memory etc.
Note the rear door configuration, more suited to occasional back seat use.
I think these are Type 2 / CCS 2 charging.
https://www.trademe.co.nz/a/motors/cars/mazda/mx-30/listing/5544024285
Lexus UX300e (the older 54 kWh battery size)
Again panned for poor range (305 km wltp) for new car price point, and relatively slow fast charging.
Again a very nice feature set and interior. This time with a regular 4 door + hatch configuration.
Start Used at $35k asking so will need some sharp negotiation to get into budget.
I think these are type 2 for AC charging, CHAdeMO for DC fast charging. CHAdeMO generally makes them less desirable, but not an issue for your use case.
2025's with the larger 73 kWh battery put downwards pressure on pricing of the older cars.
BMW i3
Used to own one of these. Really miss it. 125 kW RWD in a tiny car with a full carbon fiber body...
Designed for the city, can turn super sharp.
Note there are three battery sizes over the years, below example is the middle size
Below one is NZ new, will have type 2 charging.
Note most for sale are ex japan, and will have the CHAdeMO public fast charge port on the side, and the AC home charge port in the Frunk (under the bonnet), not really ideal for daily use.
Same door setup as the MX-30
4 seater
https://www.trademe.co.nz/a/motors/cars/bmw/i3/listing/5487045097
Mini Cooper SE
BMW took the drive-train of the i3 (the 135 kW version) and a smallish battery, and put it in a mini (at the front end this time). Very nice styling
NZ New, Type 2 / CCS2 charging
4 seater.
https://www.trademe.co.nz/a/motors/cars/mini/cooper/listing/5458311650?rsqid=cf6a47b3b3cd4167b2692ee893624053-005

There is many more good options in your price range, Just listed the above as they are priced cheap on account of their low range and / or CHAdeMO charge port.

Note the MG5 was never sold in NZ, and the one on trademe is a used import from the UK (check you can put the speedo into km/h). If you like station wagons there are few EV options, but be aware this will always be a rare car on NZ roads (which has both benefits and drawbacks)

Jase2985

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#3419308 28-Sep-2025 09:54

richms:

Jase2985:

that's a little bit of an exaggeration.

type 1 to 2 adapters are cheap, and there is about 1 chademo to every 3 CCS chargers at most chargers.

Friends leaf experience with a couple of adapters is that they heat up, something in them trips out and charging just stops - no graceful reduction in current, just a "oops, its stopped" and then when it cools back down and reconnects whatever it is, charging doesn't restart because something has errored out between the 2 which needs a full unplug and replug. Full cable on a detachable type 2 charger works fine.

Never seen nor heard of that happening on the NZ Leaf Facebook groups, if it were prevalent I'm sure it would have been posted.

johno1234

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#3419309 28-Sep-2025 09:55

Sounds like bad connections and risky - replace.

Benoire

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#3419493 28-Sep-2025 18:18

Scott3:

awesomely long post but full of good info - thanks!

Does anybody know if the european cars from Japan (2018-20) are JDM specced or just running japanese language in the car? Ideally we would like NZ New for Type 2 compatability and car being in the correct region but if japan euros are simply a language change then we could cope with the charging adapater or cable change in the ev charger itself.

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#3420657 2-Oct-2025 12:49

Tesla is finally embracing V2L outside of the Cybertruck! The new Performance Y has been confirmed to support it:

r/teslamotors - The new Model Y Performance has V2L capability

Hopefully it's not limited to just the US and a 240v version will be available here...and in the non-performance versions.

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Scott3

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#3420660 2-Oct-2025 13:12

Benoire:

Scott3:

awesomely long post but full of good info - thanks!

Does anybody know if the european cars from Japan (2018-20) are JDM specced or just running japanese language in the car? Ideally we would like NZ New for Type 2 compatability and car being in the correct region but if japan euros are simply a language change then we could cope with the charging adapater or cable change in the ev charger itself.

As a general rule, JDM cars are not a simple language switch to English.

Frustrating, as many of the cars are set up to with the option to store multiple languages for other markets. But in general JDM cars only offer Japanese as the language.

Can't comment on euro's JDM cars in particular.

Benoire

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#3420662 2-Oct-2025 13:26

Scott3:

As a general rule, JDM cars are not a simple language switch to English.

Frustrating, as many of the cars are set up to with the option to store multiple languages for other markets. But in general JDM cars only offer Japanese as the language.

Can't comment on euro's JDM cars in particular.

This was my issue with my old BMW, was euro spec but built for japan so the language option was only japanese. I've heard that the VW E-Golf does have multi languages on board so thats something!

Scott3

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#3420663 2-Oct-2025 13:29

Obraik:

Tesla is finally embracing V2L outside of the Cybertruck! The new Performance Y has been confirmed to support it:

Hopefully it's not limited to just the US and a 240v version will be available here...and in the non-performance versions.

Really great news.

Tesla was becoming a bit of an outlier, with their main competitors (Hyundai / Kea / BYD / Zeekr / MG etc.) generally offering v2l as standard.

I think it is a fair assumption they will offer voltages to match the markets they are sold in. 230 V, 50 Hz power like NZ is something like 80+% of the global population.

Given they are using an outlet adaptor, they don't even need to pick out plug faceplates when built the car to suit other market's.

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While it is not unprecedented to only offer v2l on higher trims (For example the Kia EV5 only offers it on Earth trim and above), Tesla generally has had a policy of making their base trim's a compelling option, so I would expect this to roll out fleet wide, at whatever time the power electronic modules get a refresh.

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While tesla is not alone only in only offering V2L externally via an adaptor (for example the Omoda E5 also takes this approach), this seems like a wasted opportunity. Means (without draping a cord out the window to the charge port) you cannot charge your item while driving (say an electric golf trundler, when you are playing two rounds at different golf courses on the same day), and you can't leave the car in utility mode, locked up with 230 V power to run something in the boot (say a breadmaker or slow cooker, so you can come back a hot meal after some kind of outdoor activity).

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