NRMA introduces mobile top-up charging for stranded electric cars

Sydney and Canberra-based electric-car owners will soon have a lifeline – courtesy of roadside assistance provider NRMA – if they run out of battery power.

However, electric car drivers would be well advised to conk out close to home or work because, for now, only two patrol vehicles will be equipped with the booster tech.

The service will be incorporated into the network's existing roadside assistance program and, initially at least, apply to NRMA members only.

Two NRMA patrol vans have been purpose-fitted with 4.8kWh lithium-ion battery packs that provide one kilometre of charge every two minutes, according to NRMA. After a 10-minute charge, an electric vehicle will receive approximately five kilometres of range to limp home or to get to the nearest charging station.

The new service will be included as part of the company's regular roadside assistance product at no additional cost over petrol and diesel members. An NRMA membership also allows access to a network of over 50 fast-chargers.

NRMA Roadside Assistance Patrol Tim Bryant has been specially trained to attend to electric vehicle drivers who've run out of charge.

"We are seeing more and more (electric car) drivers call us for assistance so it’s clear the need for this kind of support is increasing,” Mr Bryant said in a media statement.

"NRMA Patrols are now trained to attend to both internal combustion engines as well as electric vehicles. The new mobile (electric car) chargers being rolled out in our patrol vans mean we’ll be able to get more cars back on the road faster.”

This latest service forms part of NRMA's broader electric vehicle strategy to support a national transition to electric vehicles. This strategy follows partnership with both state and federal governments to roll-out and manage a fast-charging network that covers key tourism and transport corridors within New South Wales.

While some might find surprise at the relative low battery capacity — which provides charge at comparable rate to a regular wall socket — the service is equivalent to roadside assistance supplying a few litres of extra fuel for internal combustion engine vehicles to get to the next petrol station. With such a low charging capability and the sparseness of electric-car chargers in Australia, it may be that a regular flat-bed tow truck will provide a more suitable service.

NRMA is not the only provider of this emergency charge solution. Local BYD cars distributor EVDirect is planning a similar mobile charging service, named EV2U, which will provide emergency battery charge to all electric vehicles. It is expected to launch in March 2023. Similarly, RACV has provided funding to start-up Re:Start which utilises a DC fast-charging system.

It's not the first time NRMA itself has offered such a service. It introduced a dedicated electric-car support vehicle more than 10 years ago, kitting-out a Mitsubishi i-MiEV with a mobile electric car charger for those in dire need of extra vehicle charge. However, this latest initiative is a far broader application of the concept and plays into the company's wider electric vehicle adoption strategy.