The cable in the boot is a start — not a plan. Here is a simple first week: check your plug, pick a charging window, and wake up with a full battery.
Day one: what is in the boot?
Most new EVs ship with a portable charging cable — sometimes called a granny lead. It plugs into a normal power point and the car. It is fine for emergencies and short top-ups. It is not what you want as your only way to charge at home.
Granny leads charge slowly — often adding only 10–15 km per hour. They are also not designed to run at full load for eight hours every night. A proper Australian-certified portable charger is faster, safer, and built for daily use.
If you picked up the car today and need range tomorrow, a certified portable unit is the path that does not involve waiting weeks for a fixed install.
Day two: check your plug in thirty seconds
Walk to the charge port on your car. If you see a Type 2 socket — a round port with seven pin holes — you are on the standard Australia uses. Nearly every new EV sold here has it.
If the port looks different (smaller, or with a separate DC flap only), you may have an import. That is not a disaster, but you need the right cable or adapter strategy before you buy anything.
When in doubt, send us a photo of the port and the make, model and year. We would rather confirm once than have you order the wrong thing.
Day three: pick a charging window
Home charging works best when the car sits plugged in for several hours. For most people that means overnight: home around 6–7 pm, unplug next morning.
A typical home setup adds roughly 30–40 km per hour — far more than the average Australian daily drive. You do not need to charge to 100% every night. Most drivers set a comfortable limit (often 80–90%) and leave it.
If your electricity plan has a cheap off-peak window, schedule charging inside it. Even without solar, that is where the running-cost savings live.
Day four: where to plug in
A portable charger needs a power point or outlet that can handle the load — not an old double adapter on an extension lead running through the garden.
Many households use an existing garage or carport outlet for a portable unit while they decide on a fixed wallbox later. If you are unsure whether the circuit is up to it, a licensed electrician can check in minutes.
Evtronix supplies certified chargers and documentation. We do not install them — your electrician certifies any fixed wiring to AS/NZS 3000:2018 when you are ready for a permanent wallbox.
By the end of the week
You should be waking up to a car that covers your normal week without hunting for public fast chargers. The habits are simple: plug in when you park, let it run on a schedule, check the app if you use one.
From here, read about portable vs wallbox, what home charging costs, and how long charging actually takes — those three answers decide what to buy next.
Key takeaways
- The boot cable is for emergencies — daily charging deserves certified equipment
- Type 2 is the standard AC plug in Australia; confirm before you buy
- Overnight charging covers a normal commute; you rarely need 100% every night
- Use a proper outlet or have an electrician check the circuit — not a daisy chain of extensions