Electric vehicle owner’s massive fail is called out by Aussies

A driver has been called out for charging their electric vehicle on the street by running the charging cable through a stormwater pipe.

2GB host Ray Hadley shared a photo of the car on Monday morning, and described it as ‘the most remarkable photo I think I’ve seen’.

‘This is how one EV owner charges his car. He drags the electrical cord through the stormwater pipe and onto the street,’ Hadley told listeners on Monday.

‘This is priceless.

‘He’s actually got his electric vehicle charging with the lead going through the stormwater pipe.

‘I don’t know whether he knows that water and electricity don’t really mix and could cause him some sort of problem.’

Electric vehicle sales continue to rise in Australia, but the quick transition from combustion engines to battery-powered cars presents several major challenges.

Many councils are cracking down on, or even banning, EV owners from placing charging cords across footpaths, creating challenges for owners without garages who struggle to charge their cars. 

Meanwhile, the availability of public charging stations was one of the biggest concerns for motorists who were weighing up whether to purchase an electric vehicle, according to a Pureprofile survey of more than 2000 Australians late last year, second only to their purchase price.

The report found local firm Chargefox had installed the greatest number of electric chargers in Australia, operating more than one in three charging sites, followed by Evie Networks with 23 per cent of the market, and Tesla with 10 per cent.

Jolt and NRMA followed in fourth and fifth spot, while electric car charging stations from traditional petrol retailers BP and Ampol claimed sixth and seventh positions as their national rollout ramped up.

US automaker Tesla offered the greatest power through its electric chargers, however, with its Supercharger network representing almost half of Australia’s charging network’s capacity, according to the report.