This week’s episode discusses the SUV Expo and carloop’s own event the EV Charging Summit.
Video Transcript
Introduction
Hello and welcome to EV Loop, powered by CarLoop. I’m Adrian Maidment.
And I’m Riz Akhtar. Hello, Riz.
Adrian Maidment
Hey Riz, good to be on another exciting episode. We’ve got a lot of expo event coverage for today, and we’ll probably start with your event coverage. Where are you? What have you been doing? Where are you going?
Riz Akhtar
Right, those are three very important questions in the electric vehicle space. We’ve just finished our Electric Vehicle Charging Summit—a huge turnout by the industry. It was a bit of a blast, a lot of stress getting to the planning stage and making sure it all came together. And it did. We got an overwhelming response from the attendees and the industry as a whole. They want to see more of these get-togethers and collaborative lesson-sharing summits and events. CarLoop’s EV Charging Summit 2024 was a great success, and we’d love to see and do more of these in the future.
Adrian Maidment
And what was the key feedback from the industry?
Riz Akhtar
The industry is basically looking at ways of collaborating more effectively. Some may be competitors, but they’re all trying to figure out how they can work together because there’s enough of the pie for everyone to benefit. People want to see more partnerships, more collaborations as the EV industry and EV charging sector matures in Australia.
Adrian Maidment
What was the key challenge people were finding?
Riz Akhtar
One of the key challenges was knowing “who’s who in the zoo.” There are a lot of new players and some existing ones, so how can they work together? A significant point of discussion was the need for fleet managers to now work with property managers, who manage the land where charging infrastructure will be installed, and with grid operators and electricity supply companies. Traditionally, these sectors have been fragmented, but now they’re all coming together. For the first time, the industry is seeing cars, energy, transport, fleet management, and ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) concerns converge into one space. As EV adoption increases, we need more charging infrastructure, so it’s all coming together.
Adrian Maidment
That’s a crucial point about charging infrastructure. For example, what if someone wants an EV but lives in an apartment three stories up? What do they do in that situation?
Riz Akhtar
Exactly, that’s one of the key issues. Also, how can the industry deliver solutions, particularly for large organisations that might be renting office space? They may have their own car park but are sharing the space with other companies. All these car parks and properties need to have charging infrastructure ready for when employees make the switch to EVs. Often, large property companies that own or manage the entire office building need to get involved because they control the facilities. The goal of our summit was to empower everyone with the right information so they can feel confident about making it happen. Let’s get chargers in the ground to support the uptake of electric vehicles in Australia.
Adrian Maidment
And moving on to more consumer-focused news, you were at the Melbourne EV Show. What did you see there?
Riz Akhtar
It was very interesting. I was there on Friday and stayed through to Sunday. We saw a whole range of things, but the highlights were two new brands we hadn’t seen before: Xpeng and Zeekr. Some of our listeners and viewers know that I was in China with Zeekr. We finally got to see their cars locally, delivered and showcasing at the expo. They had two Zeekr X vehicles there, and thousands of people got in and out of them over the three days. Xpeng also had their G6, the first electric vehicle they’re launching in Australia. They showcased the G9, the X9 luxury people mover expected to arrive next year, and the P7, a sports car with big scissor doors. That was quite impressive to see. And apparently, the highlight of the show was Xpeng’s flying car, the Jetson Spec, which wowed the crowd. Electric cars not only drive on the road, but they can fly as well—although it didn’t actually take off at the show!
Adrian Maidment
It didn’t fly then?
Riz Akhtar
No, it didn’t fly too high. Not at the show anyway—probably a few rules against that at the moment. But it would be awesome. We struggle to get full self-driving cars here in Australia and New Zealand, Adrian, so imagine the complexities with flying cars.
Adrian Maidment
And today, you’re sitting in your car—why is that?
Riz Akhtar
Today I’m at the Electric SUV Show. I’ve been around and had a chance to catch up with Tom Gan, who runs an awesome YouTube channel, Ludicrous Feed. He was in Melbourne for the show, and I’ve just dropped him off. I’ve returned to the convention centre where the show is happening, and I thought we’d quickly get this episode filmed so our viewers and audience are getting the latest updates straight from the horse’s mouth. This is happening now. I was on stage earlier giving a keynote on how Australia’s electric vehicle market has developed, with over 200,000 electric cars on our roads, and where we’re heading with all the new models coming up. I even got to test drive a new model, the Xpeng G6, and I have to say, it’s impressive.
Adrian Maidment
I look forward to seeing that! And you’ve taken some footage, I believe, so we’ll insert some of that now. Any highlights in the video footage?
Riz Akhtar
Yes, you’ll get to see the Xpeng G6. Mini also had a Countryman there—Minis are no longer minis, they’re getting bigger and bigger—but there was an electric Countryman. Ford had an F-150 Lightning electric ute, which has been converted to right-hand drive, so there were plenty of interesting things going on.
Adrian Maidment
And just to wrap up, any key meets and greets over the last few days? What’s the industry vibe out there, Riz?
Riz Akhtar
Really positive vibes, Adrian. A lot of people who attended CarLoop’s EV Charging Summit were also at the Melbourne Electric SUV Show. It was great to catch up with many of them, and everyone’s really excited about working together, regardless of what’s happening in Canberra. The whole industry is eager to collaborate and push forward, especially as we see the rise of electric vehicle brands from China.
Adrian Maidment
Okay, we’ll leave it there, and we’ll see you again next week in the studio, Riz. That’s where you’ll find us next week.
Riz Akhtar
Looking forward to it. Thanks, Adrian. Thanks, everyone, for joining us.
