Electric vehicle battery flat? Mobile charging vans to the rescue

One service provider’s 10-minute charge can last about 30km, roughly the distance between Raffles Place and Changi Village.

 

SINGAPORE: Electric vehicle (EV) drivers can soon charge their vehicles more conveniently, with a growing industry of mobile charging vans set to ply the roads.

All they have to do is contact firms offering the charging services and these vans – carrying portable chargers specifically made for electric vehicles – will pull up to provide juice. 

The services target drivers whose cars have run out of battery on the road, as well as those whose carparks have not been fitted with EV chargers yet.

Such efforts come amid ambitious plans to ramp up adoption of the clean energy alternative under the Singapore Green Plan, the country’s sustainability push to achieve key targets by 2030.

Among the service providers is car dealer Wearnes, which recently started a pilot for its services.

 "As and when their battery runs flat, we'll respond to them by coming down with our mobile EV charger," said Wearnes Automotive general manager Vynn Tu. 

The firm will dispatch an electric Kangoo van retrofitted with a device from local battery maker Durapower. A 10-minute charge from the van can last about 30km, which is roughly the distance between Raffles Place and Changi Village.

Wearnes hopes this will plug the current supply gap, while the country pursues its plan to install 60,000 charging points by 2030.

For now, services under the pilot only run on weekdays, from 9am to 6pm. The firm hopes to eventually increase its service offerings and use a different van that can provide a longer-lasting charge.

Although electric vehicles make up just 1 per cent of the car population currently, there is no time like now, as far as Wearnes is concerned. 

"This is the best time to pilot this new mobile EV charger platform because the numbers are low. That's why it's actually manageable and it allows us to troubleshoot and make improvements to this setup," Ms Tu told CNA. 

ELECTRIC RIDE-SHARING SERVICES

Another firm looking to tap a growing interest in electric vehicles is EVCo. 

The firm will make available 550 electric commercial vans for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to lease next year. 

 This article was originally published on Channel News Asia. Its inclusion on this website is solely for education purposes. 

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