Shopping centres lead way in electric vehicle charging

Major shopping centres are better positioned than top office towers to deal with an expected influx of electric vehicles into capital cities as they have more chargers.

Shopping centres nationally are well placed to cater for an expected influx of electric vehicle charging. Picture: Getty Images

Major shopping centres are better positioned than top office towers to deal with an expected influx of electric vehicles into capital cities as they have more chargers.

Retail landlords have reported an EV charging station penetration rate of 78 per cent, against an office penetration rate of just 20 per cent, despite the post-pandemic switch to driving, a CBRE report said.

Report author Sophie Plumridge was critical of the local industry’s readiness as manufacturers roll out new, cheaper models.

“Australia’s office EV charging stock appears to be underdeveloped, with just 60 charging stations across the buildings we surveyed. On a city-by-city basis, Perth property landlords are leading the way in both the office and retail stakes, with Brisbane lagging in the office sector and Melbourne needing to play catch-up on the shopping centre front,” Ms Plumridge said.

Retail landlords have reported an EV charging station penetration rate of 78 per cent, against an office penetration rate of just 20 per cent. Picture: AAP

The electric vehicle market has grown exponentially over the last five years, with 6.8 per cent (23,967) of new vehicles purchased in the year to April 2023 being EVs. However, the country lags the global growth rate average of 12-14 per cent, with the Electric Vehicle Council estimating that Australia will need to support an EV fleet of one million vehicles by 2027 – a leap from the current total of 83,000 – to hit 2050 net zero targets.

Charging station infrastructure will be key to supporting the market’s expansion, but even at current levels office landlords have their work cut out for them.

Natasha Mulcahy, head of ESG for CBRE’s Pacific property management unit, said there was a sharp increase in tenants, and particularly government tenants, requesting EV charging infrastructure from office landlords.

The firm’s stocktake of EV charging stations in major capitals showed that for offices Perth had the highest charging station penetration rate, as they were in 35 per cent of the city’s surveyed buildings.

On the retail front, 31 of the 40 centres surveyed nationally had EV chargers. Perth again led the way, with all centres surveyed with chargers. Surprisingly, Melbourne’s retail centres were relatively undersupplied with only 40 per cent having ­chargers.