Electric vehicles are currently experiencing a global boom. With just under 10 percent of all new cars being EVs, electrification advocate Sarah Aubrey thinks this boom is only set to get bigger – and that this is a good thing.

Aubrey runs Electrify This, an educational Instagram account with almost 100,000 followers - and last Thursday evening the advocate hosted a workshop organised by North Sydney Council at the Ros Crichton Pavilion.

The Council has previously run four other workshops open to all - but this one extended the invitation to women in particular. There were around 30 in attendance - most seeming to be of a Gen X age or older - wielding notepads, laptops and questions.

The North Shore has one of the biggest take-ups of EVs in the country and many on North Sydney council are EV owners, including Mayor Zoë Baker.

The workshop was organised by Jordan Moy, North Sydney Council’s Sustainability Education Officer.

The single-sex format created a convivial, comfortable mood - though it could be seen as both countering and reinforcing gender stereotypes around cars.

And if the aim was to demystify electric vehicle science and ownership for the EV-curious, then this was achieved.

“So cheap compared to petrol”

One of the benefits of owning an EV is the ability to charge it at home from regular power outlets.

“I met [Zali Steggall] the other day. Five years she’s owned a Kona and still she just uses a power point,” Aubrey told the group.

Aubrey said most EVs only need to be plugged in overnight every couple of days, comparing the energy usage per kilowatt to being “like running a kettle all night.”

In general, Aubrey said charging your EV works out to be two thirds of the price of petrol. According to the Electric Vehicle Council (EVC), the savings can vary depending on how you charge the vehicle. Public fast chargers can cost more, but the price varies depending on the car and power of the charger. Generally, charging an EV at one of these public spots is around 20 percent cheaper than buying petrol. If you’re charging at home, charging with the benefit of solar or off-peak tariffs overnight can save as much as 90 percent.

Financial comparison website Canstar suggests the biggest cost is generally the price of the car itself. A Tesla Model Y, the most popular, will set you back $55,900, while a BYD Dolphin will cost just shy of $30,000 plus on-road costs. However, it’s likely prices will continue to drop as competition between car manufacturers grows. 

Figuring out whether you should make the switch

Data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics found the average Australian will drive around 12,000 km a year – a distance the EVC says will cost around $500 to charge for – compared to around $2,500 for petrol. If you are charging from a home with solar, that annual cost could come down to $200.

Many insurance and government websites offer calculation tools online to determine the savings possible with an electric vehicle. On the NRMA website, you can also compare electric vehicle costs to your current, non-electric vehicle.

Aubrey recommends a charging cable length of 20 metres, which can cost around $500 - a figure that made some attendees wince. This more robust option may be a small price to pay for the ability this then gives EV owners to charge their cars more easily.

Energy companies like AGL now offer EV plans that include policies which make charging overnight cheaper, she said, offering extra incentive to make the switch. 

Addressing myths

The biggest myth addressed was scepticism around the amount and availability of public charging ports.

“The people who worry about chargers are the people who don’t own an EV,” Aubrey said, while claiming Ausgrid is currently lobbying to put chargers on poles “everywhere”.

One EV-owning attendee piped up to say “I’ve had no problem… Even motels have them.”

Aubrey added that 50 people so far have circumnavigated Australia in EVs. Smartphone apps make this even easier, which had some women nodding: one attendee cited an app that gave her three location options along her route to charge her vehicle. 

In North Sydney, however, with the majority of residents living in Strata-incorporated apartments, charging alternatives are a genuine consideration. At the moment, available charging stations are at car parks on Alexander Street, Holtermann Street, Hume Street, Nicholson Street, and Ridge Street.

“No stupid questions”

 As Aubrey launched into her spiel on battery chemistry (“don’t worry, it’s very confusing,” she laughed), one attendee cited the “no stupid questions” rule to ask: how big are EV batteries, and where are they within the car?

It was a good question. Aubrey answered that the battery is on the floor of the car, making the vehicle “perfectly balanced and really fun to drive” and giving the added benefit of a “frunk” – or front trunk – where an engine would be in a traditional car.

Driving into the future

“How far off are we from powering our homes with these batteries?” another attendee asked. As EVs are essentially just “big batteries on wheels”, Aubrey thinks we’re only a few years away from this being a reality.

“I want to do this because I’m concerned about the future,” one attendee said, who mentioned Spain’s recent blackout crisis made her wary of depending on electric energy.

But the host was quick to point out that our current dependence on petrol is even more precarious. “At any one time, Australia only has a month’s worth of petrol in the country,” she said.

For Aubrey, it’s a no-brainer: “I’d much rather be reliant on Australian-made energy,” she said, referring to renewable energy like solar power and the electric grid. 

She was confident that the result would get us close to having a “circular economy”.

Advice and parting words

The biggest piece of advice? Test drive everything before you buy.

Aubrey recommends those interested follow automotive expert Mike Costello on LinkedIn, and join the Australian Electric Vehicles Association (AEVA) for $50 a year for access to resources like their fact-sheets.

 Learn more here and keep up with North Sydney’s sustainability-oriented events here.