It’s been nearly two months since DC Handal turned on its DC fast chargers in Bamboo Hills, but the company has finally held its official launch of its facility. The electric vehicle charge point operator (CPO) has implemented four Kempower chargers that are capable of pushing out 200kW per nozzle.
200kW charging at RM1.50 per kWh
As previously reported, the chargers carry DC Handal’s usual rate of RM1.50 per kWh. The company’s key selling point is that you don’t need to download an app to pay and unlock the chargers—instead, you simply tap your credit or debit card (and yes, Apple Pay, Samsung Pay and Google Pay are also accepted) at the centralised terminal to start and stop charging.
Just like paying for petrol, your card will be exacted a pre-authorisation charge when you use the chargers, currently set at RM50. Alternatively, you can use the ChargEV or JomCharge apps for payment and to start and stop charging.
The Kempower chargers also feature something called dynamic load balancing, meaning that they will adjust the distribution of all 200kW in real time according to power draw of each of the EVs being plugged in.
Say, you have one car being plugged in and accepting all 200kW. When another car plugs in, the chargers will take some of that wattage and transfer it to the other car, but the car that came first still gets the majority of the power.
As the power draw of that car decreases over time, however, the charger is able to distribute the excess wattage to the rest of the cars being plugged in, ensuring that they get charged faster. This is more efficient than other chargers that split their charging power equally across all their nozzles, regardless of the actual load of the cars being plugged in.
Without an app, users can check their status of their car’s charging remotely by scanning a QR code at the chargers. Among other stats, they will be able to monitor their car’s charging curve, which is very convenient.
Auto Bavaria branding, but no BMW benefits yet
DC Handal also took the opportunity to reveal a partnership with Auto Bavaria, which will see the BMW dealer’s brand being featured prominently on the chargers. As yet, however, the two companies have not revealed any collaborative offers, such as preferred charging rates, for BMW owners.
It should be noted, however, that BMW Group Malaysia already offers a BMW Charging subscription that allows users to get 800 JomCharge credits at a discounted rate of RM640. These credits can of course be used at these chargers, as well as the rest of the JomCharge and Gentari network.
Other chargers on the DC Handal network
Bamboo Hills is one of six locations DC Handal has installed chargers in. These include four 200kW Kempower chargers at UOA Business Park in Glenmarie, three 150kW Kempower chargers at Wisma MCA, Jalan Ampang, four 200kW Kempower chargers at Wisma UOA Damansara II and a 90kW Autel dual-nozzle charger at Choo Plaza, Penang.
But the highest density of DC Handal chargers is in Bangsar South. There are no less than 14 charging bays, served by a 100kW Kempower dual-nozzle charger at The Vertical, three 240kW Kempower dual-nozzle chargers at The Sphere, two 47kW Autel dual-nozzle chargers at The Vertical basement car park and a 30kW Autel dual-nozzle charger at The Horizon basement car park.
All of DC Handal’s chargers carry Auto Bavaria branding, hinting at a wider-scale partnership.
