Range anxiety is old news: the new reality of EV charging on the road in NZ

Range anxiety used to be a thing. Early EVs had limited battery range and public chargers were rare. Drivers hesitated to trust their cars on long trips. But in 2025, that’s no longer the story.

Today, with more than 1300 public charging points across New Zealand, the game has changed. That’s almost one charging point for every 60 EVs, according to EECA (Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority). Fast chargers (over 25 kW) make up more than two-thirds of that infrastructure.

Let me be crystal: range anxiety in Aotearoa is increasingly a hater’s excuse, not a practical barrier.

Public charging isn’t some rare emergency pit-stop anymore, it’s a routine break in your journey.

ChargeNet, NZ’s leading charging network, now operates over 520 fast charging points nationwide. These include ultra-rapid 300kW stations on major corridors. At these hyper sites, some EVs can get up to 400 km of range in just 15 minutes. According to EECA, most of the highway network now has a fast charger around every 75km along state highways.

For clarity: home or destination charging is usually done on AC (lower power), while for highway driving you’ll use DC rapid or ultra-rapid chargers to top up quickly.

Another outdated myth? That you’ll have to spend ages at charging stations just to keep going.

The majority of charging (about 97%) happens at home, overnight. Public charging is now more about destination top-ups (supermarkets, gyms, holiday stops) and longer trips, not everyday petrol-station-style desperation.

Tools like EVRoam or PlugShare make planning super simple; find a charger exactly where and when you need it, like mapping out your fuel stops.

Bottom line: for most EV owners, charging fits into your normal routine. It’s not an interruption, it’s just part of life.

Let’s walk the talk with a real-world example: say you’re driving from Rotorua to Wellington (about 450 km). In a modern EV with a range of 300 km+ and a DC charge rate of more than 150kW, you’ll likely need two charging stops. With the current fast-charger network, you can plug in for around 20–30 minutes at each, just enough time for a stretch, a coffee, or a sumo pie. Thanks to 300kW hyperchargers, that break is less about recharging your car and more about recharging yourself. That’s provided your EV can make use of such high charge rates.

With reliable chargers on the map, you don’t have to wonder whether you’ll make it. EVs are no longer just daily commuters; you can use them for long-distance trips without second-guessing. The network is built, used, and still growing.

And it’s not just private companies doing the heavy lifting: The Government has an ambitious target of New Zealand having 10,000 public chargers by 2030 and earlier this year launched a new funding model to assist private companies in building more EV stations.

• Myth - “There aren’t enough chargers to go far!”
• Reality - There are over 1200 public points and 520+ fast chargers covering state highways.

• Myth - “Charging will take forever.”
• Reality - A modern EV hooked up to 300kW hypercharger can add 300km of range in as little as 15 minutes.

• Myth - “I’ll be stranded on a roadie.”
• Reality- Strategic charger placement makes long trips easy. EVs with 300 km+ range work well for multi-stop journeys.

• Myth - “I’ll need to charge in public all the time.”
• Reality - According to EECA, over 97 per cent of EV charging in NZ happens at home.

If you’re still mentally stuck on “What if I run out?”, it’s time to update your firmware because the EV world in New Zealand has evolved. The biggest barrier now is in the mind, not on the road. The infrastructure is in place, the network is reliable, and EV ownership is no longer about compromise, it’s about choice.