Yep.
Can you imagine the way people (not @ Shelton) would shift their mindset if their house had multiple little petrol bowsers around their house. That, whilst being free, we’re just a trickle of fuel. And there were quite a bit bigger free petrol bowsers at their work, gym, library etc.
Tesla model 3 Long Range RWD comes close, with a WLTP of 750km. Equating to 550km of 100km/h driving, or 500km of 110km/h driving.
There are several Chinese models that have closer to 1000km WLTP range that may end up in our shores before long.
But also, there are probably already some fast chargers between Melbourne and your country house that could extend your range for many/most mid range EVs with an extra 15-30 minute stop on your round trip. For me, I’d rather pick the EV I liked best, regardless of range, and try to figure out how to make it work for my situation, than be restricted to only those super long range EVs. And I’d likely prefer to add an extra stop in a 6+ hour round trip anyway. Or, the cost of a small solar and battery system for the country house may work out cheaper than the additional price for the extra long range EV, and may also increase the house value and ease of sale down the track, while also being useful for power redundancy and reducing power bills at the country house. There are many options to suit different people’s ideals. And those options will increase in variety, and decrease in cost over time.
But coming back to the ‘Australia isn’t ready for full EV transition’, it’s already happening, and will happen at an increasing rate, with increasing options, including the one that suits you, with super long range EVs incoming for those that exclusively want that. And increasing numbers of chargers, and cars that will charge faster, etc.
The transition can’t happen in the next 1-2 years. It will happen in 10-15 years, and at some stage along that journey, there will be options that suit almost everyone. Including truly cheap second hand EVs for those that never buy new.
We already have battery repair businesses, that are making reconditioning and repairing batteries in older EVs cheaper by the day, and new battery tech is getting both better and cheaper continually.
Currently for my old BMW i3, I can get a new battery that would extend the range of my car to 400+ km for around $10K, plus another $5K or so for a local expert to fit it. Though I’ve seen many owners choose to parter with an ordinary workshop and do most of the battery pack replacement themselves, for $1-2K. But in a decade, that might be a Sodium Ion pack that cost under $5K to fit, gives me the 400-500km range, and lasts 5-6 million km or 30+ years. Which means, aside from write-offs, many older EVs should have a continuing place in the cheap car market.
People talk about EVs being like iPhones that you replace every few years as the tech gets old, but I’ve already seen enthusiast groups for older EVs like mine add to the tech, rather than it just failing and you throw the car away. I can, and have added Apple Car Play/ Android Auto to the original screen for under $200. Or I can buy touch screens to replace the original BMW i -Drive powered screen if I prefer them.
I think more ICE cars with dead motors will be scrapped, than EVs with old batteries. I can’t justify spending $5-6K on an old Corolla engine rebuild, compared with just buying a replacement second hand one with lower kms. But I can justify a new battery on an EV when that upgrade also improves its range and battery lifespan significantly.
I don’t think anyone is going to be forced to scrap their ICE vehicles, like many ICE lovers fear. We’re always going to have classic ICE cars that people drive on the weekends. It would be sad if we didn’t. But most people will move to EVs for their daily drivers at some point over the next decade or two, because they will simply make more sense for almost everyone at some stage of that journey.
Okay, that’s true, but the charging source is just a standard power point. To charge your Tesla would take about 40 hours.
I think we’re basically agreeing. I like my PHEV. I would like to go full EV. I could probably do it now if I really wanted to, but it would mean stopping to recharge on trips to and from the Otways and I don’t always want to do that. There are chargers at Geelong, Winchelsea and Colac, but the Geelong ones are not conveniently located and the Winchelsea ones are offline at least 50% of the times I try to use them. (I don’t know why, but I suspect it’s something to do with the town’s electricity supply, because when the Chargefox chargers are out, so are the Ampol ones.)
Colac has a row of about 8 Tesla fast chargers that are great. Also a couple of good Evie chargers.
I’ve financed my PHEV for 3 years, expiring March 2029. I’m fairly confident that by then I’ll be able to switch without difficulty.
You could get a 15amp outlet installed for a few hundred bucks and double the charge speed. Still not super fast but a great improvement.
Ping me the name of your electrician plz?
A 15A cct is more like 4 figures minimum.
PM mendozaaaaaa @saladin
I’m just going on some light research I did for non off street parking - before I cottoned that you’re not allowed to run a line from your house a la the many caravanners you see doing it. I’ll confess to being naive here but maybe we’re talking about different things.
“Installing a 15-amp power outlet typically costs between $150 and $500, depending heavily on the complexity of the job and distance from your switchboard. A basic installation starts around $150–$250, while a complex run requiring a dedicated heavy-duty circuit or switchboard upgrade can exceed $500.”
Of course AI. Should have guessed.
Speak to a sparkle but 99% of the time a 15A outlet or appliance will need a dedicated circuit, dedicated breaker. Good luck finding anyone to do it under a grand, and more likely $2k.
Sticking a 15A widget on a domestic 10A circuit = nice warm wires.
No, that was what I just typed in for a quick answer for you. Our board got shifted down to the front of our house when we got split systems put in, I didn’t get anyone in for a quote because I did more research and it would’ve been illegal for us to cross the footpath, but on description of our geography I got a rough anywhere from 3-500 from our usual guy, not a gumtree sparky but an established business.
If you can charge from your house and it’s workable it’s a good option that many people seem to have adopted.
Not sure I suggested this
well, it’s what your AI implied.
Gave one answer of $150-200, and another number if “Dedicated heavy-duty circuit” was required.
And… it is required.
From EV Supply Hub. Again, my research was abbreviated, I’m not doing any of it, so not claiming to know a lot other than people are doing it. Not suggesting converters or running extension leads, or doing anything without ensuring it’s safe and above board.
| Outlet Type | Typical Cost | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 10A outlet | $0 | Standard in every home — no installation needed. |
| 15A outlet | $150–$350 (existing wiring) / $400–$800(new wiring) | Good for moderate charging. |
| 32A single‑phase outlet | $600–$1,200 | Requires a dedicated circuit and licensed electrician. |
| 20A/32A Three‑phase outlet | $1,200–$2,500 | Fastest AC charging — depends on existing supply. |
These ranges cover most Australian homes, but final pricing depends on switchboard capacity, cable run length and installation complexity.
Alright. Apologies for the AI scrape, it is very lazy to copy paste the first thing that pops up but I wasn’t really looking to crawl back down the hole of research, just make a suggestion that someone else might want to. I’d add, my original response suggested ‘a few hundred bucks’. That may be right for some, not others, mea culpa.
I only commented because what you posted differed so wildly compared to what we spent (real world) about 3 months ago.
~$1800 on a new 32A charger - but a new 15A outlet would’ve been ~$1200. $300 barely gets a sparkie through the door here. No way they’re doing certified work for that.
AI is scraping American ■■■■■, mostly irrelevant, 15A is the standard for nearly all wiring over there.
Fair enough, I listed an Australian site and I did completely wasted research over a night so I wouldn’t get too caught up on the AI bit. Obviously it’s dependent on circumstances. Your circumstances are obviously different to a lot of other peoples, I can absolutely get qualified electricians to do a job here in that range, would be astonished if I couldn’t but I know it’s heading that way. Good luck to you for having off street in the first place, I’ll be off to the local Plugshare every couple of months
Depends entirely on the existing situation. Switchboard up to spec? Easy access for cable run? Distance? External location? Conduit needed? Are we talking just a 15amp outlet to plug into or an actual charger ? Blah blah blah.
Heavily simplified -
$50 rcbo
$50 external impact resistant 15A outlet
$3 per meter cable.
$20 Cert of Safety
$10,000 per hour labour. 
And I’ll just point out that all of those - except possibly the first one if an existing gpo exists where you want it - require “a licensed electrician”.
I used to have ‘a mate’. He was by far the best sparky I ever used, and some of the cabling he made up for me is as robust today as 20 years ago, but something of a lapsed catholic even back then
For 100% maybe, but overnight would easily give enough to get home.