With New Zealand’s government having recently tabled a landmark bill for zero emissions by 2050, the announcement that ABB is to deliver its market-leading electric vehicle infrastructure to Audi New Zealand dealerships nationwide couldn’t be more timely.
Available for use by drivers of the Audi e-tron, the brand’s first fully electric vehicle, ABB and Audi have collaborated on a roll out plan for both 50 kW and 175 kW ABB chargers.
To ensure a premium charging experience, Audi has chosen to go with the ABB Terra 54 charger as a base. This charger offers a 50kW DC charge at available grid connections at most dealerships and fits well with the normal use case of a dealership stop. A small number of Audi authorised dealerships across the country will be installing the ABB Terra HP high power charging units. These are 175kW DC chargers, enabling the Audi e-tron to be charged up to 80 percent in less than 40 minutes.
“Being able to offer our customers world-class levels of charging capabilities is part of the premium customer support we have in place for our Audi e-tron customers,” said Dean Sheed, General Manager, Audi New Zealand. “We expect other brands to follow our lead thereby raising the charging capability for the country and keeping us at a world-class level.”
The Audi e-tron has two electric motors with a total output of 300kW and 664Nm of torque and has a 0-100km/hr of 5.7 seconds. It will cover over 400km on a single charge and is the first series production vehicle that can charge at fast charging stations with direct current (DC) at up to 150kW. It is also comfortable charging its 95kWh battery at home using normal 240 volt AC power in a “top up” scenario.
Frank Muehlon, Managing Director for electric vehicle charging infrastructure at ABB added: “ABB is at the forefront of developing smart and sustainable technology for the future of transportation and we are delighted to be collaborating with Audi to bring this technology to New Zealand in support of its latest environmental commitments.”
On 6th June, hundreds of professionals from utilities, industry and transportation & infrastructure sectors gathered at the ABB Technology Summit held at SkyCity Convention Centre in Auckland where they got to view an exclusive preview of the all new Audi e-tron, ahead of its launch event later that evening. The full size SUV was hooked up to ABB’s Terra high-power charger, demonstrating the first-hand the coming together of two pioneering brands in e-mobility.
With over 10 years of expertise in the EV charging market, ABB is the perfect partner for Audi to jointly deliver on the future of e-mobility in New Zealand. ABB has currently sold more than 10,500 DC fast chargers across 73 countries worldwide.
ABB’s e-mobility leadership is also demonstrated by its partnership with Formula E, the world’s first fully electric international FIA motorsport series. The ABB FIA Formula E Championship series provides a platform to test e-mobility electrification and digitalization technologies in competitive racing. Together, ABB and Formula E are ideally positioned to push the boundaries of e-mobility.
Fortune Magazine recently ranked ABB #8 on its list of companies that are “changing the world” for the advances it has made in e-mobility and electric vehicle charging.
ABB (ABBN: SIX Swiss Ex) is a pioneering technology leader with a comprehensive offering for digital industries. With a history of innovation spanning more than 130 years, ABB is today a leader in digital industries with four customer-focused, globally leading businesses: Electrification, Industrial Automation, Motion, and Robotics & Discrete Automation, supported by its common ABB Ability™ digital platform. ABB’s marketleading Power Grids business will be divested to Hitachi in 2020. ABB operates in more than 100 countries with about 147,000 employees.
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Natalie Hodges | ABB Ltd | |
