Westpac offers free charging with EV loans

‘Big four’ bank Westpac has teamed up with Chargefox to offer a free charging perk with new eligible EV financing loans.

New customers will receive 1250kWh of free public charging, which they can use within 12 months at over 1500 Chargefox stations nationwide.

This means a standard-range Tesla Model 3 rear-wheel drive (RWD) model, with its 57.5kWh usable battery, can be recharged about 21 times before the free credit is exhausted.

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Six years of ChargeFox membership is included with the sale of an E-Tron

That equates to 10,311 kilometres of driving range based on the Model 3's WLTP testing claim.

Around 600 EV variants – new and old, ranging from the BYD Atto 3 SUV to the BMW i7 limousine – are eligible for Westpac’s lower car loan rates. The comparison rates range from 6.7 per cent to 11.49 per cent per annum.

The interest rates for financing a traditional petrol or diesel vehicle range from 7.2 per cent to 13.15 per cent per annum.

Westpac’s EV loan can also cover additional expenses such as an EV wall box home charger, paid software upgrades for the vehicle, and on-road costs.

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A variety of other financial institutions are offering lower interest rates and additional benefits to support the adoption of EVs, which tend to be more expensive to finance upfront, thereby improving their bottom line.

Pepper Money also provides 2000kWh worth of free charging with a new EV loan, usable within 12 months on the public Evie charging network.