Renewable Cobargo held EV 'Show & Tell' in Bermagui

David Neyle, community energy coordinator at Renewable Cobargo, said the event aimed to dispel myths such as EVs were unsuitable for rural settings and there are no local charging stations.

Bermagui's Penelope Gaha will buy an EV as the next step transitioning to clean energy and disengaging from "money-hungry companies that do not seem to care about their customers".

Tilba resident Stuart Absalom's purchase of his BYD EV in March was motivated by an interest in a sustainable future.

"Transport is one obvious way we can reduce emissions," he said.

Mr Absalom charges the EV at home with a wall charger when he has excess solar so it costs nothing.

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He estimated he has only spent $200 to drive the EV 11,000 kilometres which he spent while driving to Sydney and Melbourne.

Pure economics fuelled Eddie Holub's purchase of a Tesla in June.

He runs a point-to-point car share service Eddie Car XI.

While diesel was costing $15-$20 per 100 kilometres, using his Tesla wall charger at home costs $2.80 per 100 kilometres.

EV maintenance costs are much lower because they have less moving parts.

They said the driving range of EVs is reduced by wind, rain, cold temperatures and running heating and air-conditioning.

So does driving on highways.

Mr Absalom said the official figure for his BYD's range of 420 kilometres might be correct for city driving but drops to around 350 kilometres in rural settings.

Both agreed that charging station infrastructure is lagging the pace that people are buying EVs so there can be queues at charging stations and charging speeds vary considerably.

For Mr Absalom the hardest thing about EVs is the planning required.

He plans trips to Sydney and Melbourne with 230 kilometre gaps using PlugShare Maps or A Better Route Planner.

Batteries have an eight-year warranty but the Tesla one should last 10 years and the BYD may have a 25-year life.

Ms Gaha loved her test drive of the Tesla.

"It is fantastic to drive, very simple and very spacious," she said.

Mr Holub said the Tesla is fun to drive with a great stereo system and really good navigation.

Mr Absalom said the BYD is "very well optioned with tech for the price".

"You get a lot of bang for your buck."

He said he would have bought the EV earlier if he could.

"Just on fuel alone, it is a no-brainer."

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