Source: Plugshare
One of Australia’s largest – if not the largest – electric vehicle fast-charging locations has been closed after damage from recent floods saw the site host permanently terminate leases at the 54-year-old shopping centre.
The site was home to both a Tesla V3 Supercharger site and a Chargefox ultra-rapid charging site, which included six Tesla Superchargers, as well as one 50kW and two 350kW fast-chargers.
While Airport West in Melbourne is Chargefox’s largest site, there are no Tesla chargers there. Broadway in Sydney and Pacific Fair on the Gold Coast each have eight Tesla Superchargers but no other DC fast-chargers.
The Toombul facilities will likely now need to seek a new home. The Chargefox site was located in the highest rooftop carpark, and an additional AC charger was located in an undercover rooftop area, but the Tesla Superchargers were located in the bottom level of the shopping centre’s carparks.
Source: Plugshare
The shopping centre suffered heavy flooding, including in lower level carparks, in the February flood events.
Marty Andrews, CEO of Chargefox, confirmed to The Driven that the Chargefox sites, which it operates on behalf of the RACQ, were not damaged in the floods. But, access was cut off because of damage to the shopping centre after unprecedented floods in February and March.
The future of the shopping centre is as yet unknown but the latest news suggests that it will not reopen any time in the near future. Mirvac has told media outlets that it will permanently close the site, and it is thought it may be razed to make way for high-rise apartments.
The Driven has contacted Mirvac for verification but did not receive a response before the time of publishing. Mercury reported that the shopping centre giant has ended all leases.
Source: Mercury
The closure of the Toombul shopping centre has proved a blow for the EV community. The inability to access the Toombul Superchargers and fast-chargers added to frustrations with many chargers out-of-action due to parts supply issues.
Keyword: Australia’s largest EV fast-charging site closes as Mirvac ends Toombul leases