Countdown has installed Waiheke Island’s first public electric vehicle (EV) charging stations at its Waiheke supermarket, in partnership with Evnex.
Waiheke Island residents are early adopters of electric vehicles with more than 200 electric cars already on the island. Countdown’s new chargers, which are free to use, means customers can now do a top-up charge while they shop.
Countdown’s General Manager Corporate Affairs, Safety and Sustainability, Kiri Hannifin, says they support the island’s vision to be electric by 2030.“We know that electric vehicles are a key part of Aotearoa’s future if we’re serious about reducing carbon emissions, and it’s fantastic that the Waiheke community is already embracing electric vehicles with a clear goal for the future.
“We’re delighted to bring public electric charging sites to our customers to help support this. Like all Kiwis, Countdown wants to play our part to help ensure we protect the special and precious environment we have in New Zealand. We’ve reduced our own emissions by more than 25% since 2016 through things like energy efficient refrigeration systems, LED lighting and reducing food waste to landfill, but there’s still so much more we can all do,” says Kiri Hannifin.
Ed Harvey, Founder and CEO of Evnex says they are excited to work with Countdown, which shares their same passion for sustainability. Evnex is a New Zealand company based in Christchurch and has 300 charging stations across the country with more to come.
“We believe many of our customers will appreciate the effort that we’ve put into designing a product that reflects their values. Not only are our charger stations designed and made in New Zealand, but we’ve entirely cut out single-use plastic packaging, and every charging station sold supports permanent native reforestation in New Zealand through the purchase of carbon credits.
“We’re delighted to extend our network of charging stations onto Waiheke Island. We’re committed to making the choice to move to electric vehicles as simple as possible and we’re proud to be partnering with Countdown on this project,” says Ed Harvey.
Countdown’s charging stations are now available and compatible with any electric vehicle. Customers can charge their EVs from 7am until 7pm every day. The chargers are the R-Series, 7.4 kW / single phase, and they charge at a speed of up to 50km of range per hour.
