Fuel giant Ampol zooms past Tesla as Australia’s top EV charger owner

Fuel giant Ampol has struck a deal to acquire one of Australia’s most extensive electric-vehicle charging networks, a move that will more than triple the number of charging bays it owns just as local sales of battery-powered cars surge to record highs.

Ampol, which runs hundreds of petrol stations around the nation and the Lytton oil refinery in Brisbane, said today that it had agreed to acquire 100 per cent of Evie Networks for $225 million.

The acquisition will add more than 1000 charging bays to Ampol’s existing AmpCharge network, creating a combined national platform of 1425 charging bays spread across more than 400 sites.

This will propel Ampol’s public EV charge-point network ahead of Tesla’s, which has 158 sites with 1078 individual plugs, according to Riz Akhtar, founder of EV analytics firm Carloop. “This will make Ampol the largest charge-point operator in the country,” he said.

While Chargefox manages the largest digital network of chargers, it is not included in the charge-site owner ranking because it operates as a software platform and does not own the sites or hardware.

Ampol’s takeover of Evie comes as Australians are switching from petrol-powered to electric vehicles at an unprecedented rate, spurred by an influx of more-affordable EV models and sharp spikes in fuel prices caused by the war in the Middle East. EVs, which accounted for less than 10 per cent of Australia’s new car market just 12 months ago, now represent more than 25 per cent of new sales nationwide.

The rapid transition is putting pressure on retail fuel companies to rapidly scale up their public fast-charging infrastructure to keep up with booming demand.

Ampol managing director Matt Halliday said the deal positioned the company to “capture growth” as the uptake of EVs and charging demand increased.

“The timing is good,” he said on Thursday. “EV uptake is stepping up, Ampol has been building out its network for a number of years now … and clearly Evie brings quality sites, good tenure on those sites and good grid locations.”

There are more than 1300 public charging sites operational around Australia, housing more than 4000 individual charging ports. More than half are DC fast chargers rated above 50 kilowatts. Many of them are run by commercial operators including Evie Networks, EVX, and Tesla. Others are owned by service station chains such as Ampol and BP, or motoring clubs like the NRMA and RACV.

The rapid transition is putting pressure on retail fuel companies to rapidly scale up their public fast-charging infrastructure to keep up with booming demand.

Evie Networks’ current principal shareholder is Trevor St Baker, a long-time investor in Australia’s energy industry, with interests spanning coal-fired power stations and electric vehicle infrastructure.

However, with drivers making the switch to EVs “faster than ever, public fast-charging infrastructure is failing to keep up”, said Carloop’s Akhtar. “That’s going to be the biggest challenge,” he says.

Ampol’s acquisition follows surging usage across its 100-site AmpCharge network this year, in line with a doubling of the sales of EV and plug-in hybrids around the country. The number of charging sessions at Ampol sites, and the volume of energy supplied, had more than doubled in the first half of 2026, Halliday said.

“This gives us confidence in the strength of the business case that complements our traditional fuels business,” he said.

“A substantial portion of Australian households have no practical means of charging at home, while public infrastructure is also critical for commercial fleets, rideshare operators and customers travelling longer distances.”

The deal, subject to clearance from the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, is expected to complete in the first half of 2027.

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