Electric vehicle (EV) owners in the South Island, New Zealand are in for a game-changing experience! The first Hikotron EV Charging Hub, accepting contactless card payments, is scheduled to open on Tuesday, January 30th. The hub will provide Blenheim with four 22kW AC charge points adding around 120km of range per hour of charging. Strategically located in Wynen Street Car Park, through an agreement with Marlborough District Council, this hub aims to make EV charging accessible to the local community, businesses, and visitors, furthering the region's sustainability goals and encouraging cleaner vehicles into the Town Centre.
The EV charging hub is designed to seamlessly integrate with people's daily lives. Charging your EV becomes as simple as parking and going about your business – whether it's shopping, working, dining, visiting friends, attending appointments, exploring the local area, or enjoying a leisurely walk.
What truly sets this AC charging hub apart is the introduction of integrated contactless card payment activation, making it an innovative advancement in New Zealand's EV charging infrastructure. Stephanie Smits O'Callaghan, Co-Founder of Hikotron, highlights the significance of this development, stating, "Contactless card payment is an essential part of EV charging infrastructure for the mass adoption of electric vehicles. It simplifies the process and makes EV charging accessible to everyone. This marks a major milestone for the EV community in New Zealand."
With a straightforward tap of your credit card, you can initiate your charging session, eliminating the need for mobile apps or separate accounts. This user-friendly approach aims to encourage more people to embrace electric vehicles, driving sustainability and innovation in New Zealand.
Users who prefer the benefit of extra features can also manage their charging sessions through the Hikotron mobile app, offering real-time monitoring of the charging session and convenience at their fingertips.
Moreover, Hikotron chargers feature a patent-pending self-rescue cable release system, which Ron Smits, Co-Founder of Hikotron, emphasised based on a personal experience in Europe. "We had an incident where our charging cable got stuck, and we had to leave the cable behind for it to be retrieved a few weeks later," Ron Smits said. "That's why we developed the self-cable release technology for the Hikotron network. It ensures EV drivers have confidence in the infrastructure for a seamless charging experience."
All this cutting-edge technology is proudly designed and built in New Zealand, showcasing Hikotron's commitment to technological innovation and supports local manufacturing in New Zealand.