AGL to launch EV subscription service

Keen to drive an EV but aren’t yet ready to commit to buying and owning one? AGL is now offering a subscription service that includes an electric car, its charging hardware and the ability to cancel the service at any time.

The bold new plan was announced today, on World EV Day, by power generation and retailing company AGL, which will charge an all-inclusive $299 weekly subscription cost covering all vehicle requirements, with no lock-in contract.

The subscription includes access to several different EVs but the $299 price applies only to the Nissan LEAF and Hyundai IONIQ Electric.

Other vehicles cost more, with subscriptions for the longer-range Hyundai Kona Electric and Tesla Model 3 priced at $359 and $599 per week respectively.

The monthly payments also cover registration and insurance costs, plus tyres, repairs, roadside assistance and carbon neutral credits.

As part of the AGL Next program, the subscription will see an EV delivered to the customer’s home, followed by the installation of charging facilities.

It’s not yet clear how this will work for those without off-street parking.

AGL’s new pay-by-the-week car plan is part of a deal with Carbar and EV charging supplier JET Charge.

Originally scheduled to be offered in Melbourne and Sydney initially, the current COVID-19 restrictions in Victoria mean the Melbourne rollout has been dialled back. Availability in Victoria “will be limited”, says AGL, and customers will be put on a waitlist.

“The market for EVs in Australia is continuing to grow but we know many customers may still be reluctant to buy an EV outright due to price, concerns about technological change or access to charging facilities,” said AGL’s technology chief, John Chambers.

“AGL’s EV Subscription Service eliminates these concerns allowing customers to access the latest technology as it hits the market.

“It’s a convenient option, with the latest EV model delivered to the customer’s home and at-home charging facilities installed but with the flexibility to swap, upgrade or cancel the service at any time.

“We know customers are becoming more attuned with subscription services which provide all the benefits but none of the hassle - this is the Netflix of electric vehicles,” he said.

The new EV subscription is only available in Melbourne and Sydney metro areas – within 50km of those cities – for the time being, due to the service being in the pilot phase, says AGL. It will be “expanded and refined to ensure it meets the needs of more customers”, says the power company.

“Over the next few years, more models will hit the market, prices will fall in line with petrol vehicles and fast charging facilities will allow even greater distances to be travelled,” said Chambers.

“These changes will transform how Australia drives and we anticipate that by 2030 half of all new cars sold could be electric.”

The launch of the new AGL EV subscription service coincides with today’s announcement of a new network of more than 20 rural EV chargers that will be installed across 17 sites in Central and Western Victoria.

The ‘Charging the Regions’ launch is designed to make it more enticing for EV drivers to tour Victoria’s provincial regions.

The Victorian government is tipping in $664,000 to foster the project, which will see charging stations installed across six local government areas in north western Victoria, with an additional six councils providing their own funding for charging stations.

The project is being delivered by the Central Victorian Greenhouse Alliance in partnership with the Victorian government and local councils in Mildura, Swan Hill, Gannawarra, Buloke, Mount Alexander, Bendigo, Campaspe, Shepparton, Loddon, Central Goldfields, Wellington and Whittlesea.

Charging stations will be located in priority locations on council owned land.

Beyhard Jafari, CEO of the Electric Vehicle Council, said that the project represents a great example of positive economic stimulus.

"More charging stations are part of what is indeed to kickstart the electric vehicle revolution in regional Victoria,” he said.

“A recent report found that 68 per cent of Australians want governments to provide more public charging infrastructure. This is a great stimulus project that can help us build back better."

The tender for the project requests charging stations to be a mixture of 25kW and 50kW DC fast-chargers.