RAC introduces faster charges for empty EVs

The RAC has begun rolling out faster mobile electric vehicle chargers on its recovery vehicles.

The breakdown service introduced the engine-powered emergency chargers three years ago. If an EV runs out of battery, they can be topped up enough to get them home or to the nearest fast charger.

However, this was always a very slow practice, as the chargers were rated at 3.5kW, which is not much faster than a three-pin plug.

Now, the RAC is introducing 5kW chargers, which it says are capable of adding 10 miles of range in about half an hour. Although this is still far from ideal, it will reduce the time it takes for EV owners to get back on the road.

Called EV Boost, the service is said to be on track to be fitted to 200 RAC vans by the end of the year, which represents around a fifth of the company’s fleet. Of these, up to 130 should have the 5kW chargers.

The advantage of the on-board charger is that it reduces the need for recovery vans to carry big, heavy batteries that need to be recharged after use, or having to put a vehicle on a recovery truck to carry it to a nearby charger.

RAC chief operations director Paul Coulton said: “Having been the first breakdown company to come up with a practical and efficient solution to giving an emergency charge to a flat EV and being the only roadside assistance company in the UK that can use this pioneering British-designed technology, we’re really excited to be speeding up the charger to 5kW so we can save members even more time.”

Coulton added that the firm has put an electric Renault Zoe van into service, but says there is not currently an EV that has the capability to replace its fleet of diesel models, adding: “Even though we’re using a diesel van to recharge an electric car, we’re confident it’s faster, more efficient and better for the planet than having to send a big flatbed recovery vehicle or a van full of batteries.”

While the 5kW charger has just been introduced, Coulton also noted that the RAC is working with UK-based Original ADS on upgrading this to 7.5kW at some point in the future.