Fully Charged in Sydney

The show is popular overseas and so the organisers took a chance that it may be viable for Australia, and it was with more than 14,000 visitors arriving at the doors of the Sydney Convention Centre at Darling Harbour. The organisers have five more events to run in 2023 two in the UK (Farnborough and Harrogate), one in Canada (Vancouver), the US (San Diego) and Europe (Amsterdam). Next year the event will be held at the Sydney Showgrounds to better house the number of interested people attending and offer EV test drives.

Also, next year the event will be rebranded to Everything Electric Australia which probably is more descriptive as it’s not just vehicles but a range of other electric ‘things’ including electricity suppliers. Part of the event was 40 live sessions on stage held over two days and covering a wide range of topics such as:

• How far ahead is Tesla and can it be caught?

• Engines Out, Batteries In

• Electrifying motorbikes

• Are the established carmakers going far enough and fast enough?

• How soon is now – vehicle to grid?

• Can electric vehicles cope with Australia’s wide-open spaces?

• Micro-mobility – Skateboards, Scooters, Mopeds & E-bikes.

Electric Alley was where today’s electric cars were housed while Electric Launchpad was those waiting in the wings.

MG chose Fully Charged Live to launch its new MG4 electric car.

“MG Motor Australia is putting our customer’s priorities at the centre of our soon to be released MG4 and current ZS EV so we can continue providing the best driving experience possible and make EVs’ more accessible to all Australians,” said Peter Ciao CEO of MG Motor Australia.

“As the Fully Charged event debuts in Sydney for the first time ever, we are excited to be a part of this event and have the opportunity to showcase our newest model, the MG4. We know this model will speak to many people’s needs and wants in Australia and New Zealand as it has with other markets around the world.

“The MG4 is the first MG to be based on our EV-only MSP (Modular Scalable Platform). This introduction of our EV-only platform signals our ongoing commitment to ‘Take Charge’ and intention to move toward an EV future.

“We listened to our customer’s feedback and have fast tracked the arrival of our long range ZS EV with a larger 72kw battery pack and 440km of range to Australia. This provides more peace of mind in terms of minimising range anxiety and matches our pursuit of driving electric vehicles further.”

While the wraps were literally taken off the MG4 at the show no mention was made of price or availability.

Other cars and bikes on display included:

• BYD Atto 3 – An electric SUV under $50,000

• Cupra Born – small hatchback under $60,000

• Honda e: – funky small hatchback ~$65,000

• Nissan Leaf – Starting at $19,000 (used import) for the GEN1 or $35,000 (used import) for the GEN2 from the Good Car Co

• MG4 – small hatchback – approx $40,000-45,000 : getting rave reviews in Europe

• MG ZS – SUV for $45,000

• Polestar 2 – 5 door sedan starting at $65,000

• Peugeot e208 – small hatchback starting at $55,000

• VW ID.3 – small hatchback under $50,000

• Genesis GV60 :~ $110,000

• Hyundai Ioniq 5: from $72,000

• Kia EV6: from $68,000

• Kia eNIRO: from $65,000

• LDV Ute: from $93,000

• VW ID.Buzz (the electric kombi!): expected to be over $115,000

• Smart EQ

• Volvo XC40 Recharge Twin

• Savic motorbikes

If you were looking for a hard-wired EV charger for your EV, then you were able to see chargers from:

• ABB

• Fimer

• Wallbox (including the Qasar bi-directional V2G charger)

• Jetcharge

• EVolution Marvin (a home charger under $700)

• Myenergi.

Monash Motorsport, Faculty of Engineering, Monash University Clayton Campus, 37, 17 Alliance Ln, Clayton VIC 3800, Australia *Christopher Adis: christopher.adis@monashmotorsport.com