Recharging electric vehicles

Audi Australia Pty Ltd and Origin Energy Limited (Origin) now have a partnership that is designed to help owners of the new Audi A3 Sportback e-tron plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV) further lower their impact on the environment.

Origin will join with Audi Australia to purchase displacements to cover up to the first 10,000 km of grid-charged electric driving for Audi’s first PHEV offering in Australia.

“The electricity from the national grid used to power the A3 Sportback e-tron will be displaced by accredited renewable energy sourced from wind, solar, bioenergy and mini-hydro generators, which have zero net greenhouse gas emissions, at no extra cost to the owner,” said Phil Craig, executive general manager, corporate affairs for Origin.

“In Australia, there are more battery electric and plug-in hybrid electric vehicle options available now than ever before, and more new models on their way,” said Craig.

“Battery costs are reducing and the range capability is set to double by 2017.”

In addition to Audi, Origin is the preferred energy services provider for Mitsubishi and Nissan EVs. It also introduced the first electric vehicles into its staff pool vehicle fleet in 2010. EVs and PHEVs powered by 100% government-accredited GreenPower continue to form an important part of Origin’s fleet transformation today.

“The introduction of the Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV and Audi’s new A3 e-tron PHEV marks a move to plug-in cars in Australia; while in Europe, the USA and Japan, the vehicle manufacturing industry is shifting production towards efficient, low emissions battery-driven models, said Craig.

“Recharging plug-in vehicles with renewable sources of power is another way owners can further reduce their environmental impact by powering their homes, businesses and vehicles from renewable energy.”

Origin GreenPower is an easy and effective way for customers to reduce their carbon footprint. When customers choose from 25%, 50% or 100% GreenPower, Origin matches the chosen percentage of a customer’s electricity consumption into the electricity grid with power from 100% GreenPower accredited renewable energy sources in Australia.

Audi Managing Director of Australia Andrew Doyle said, “The A3 Sportback e-tron is the first plug-in hybrid vehicle from Audi.” He said the car can be used each day in pure electric mode, up to 50 km, and then charged overnight. For longer distances, a combination of the electric motor and petrol engine can be used.