[ UPDATE 11/12/2023 10:30 ] Shell Recharge EV chargers at Pavilion KL are now available.
[ UPDATE 22/09/2023 18:00 ] Shell Recharge EV Chargers at Pavilion KL are finally unveiled.
===
Pavilion Kuala Lumpur is Malaysia’s first Tesla Supercharger location which has a total of 8 stations. While these fast DC chargers are still waiting for approval, Shell Recharge is also adding more EV chargers at the same location as they have set up hoarding boards right next door.
Located at Level B1 basement carpark near pillar C 21, it appears that Shell Recharge has taken up a space that’s large enough for about 3 or 4 EV charging bays. We still don’t know what chargers are being deployed but we are guessing it could be AC chargers similar to other mall carpark installations such as IOI City Mall, 1 Mont Kiara, Atria Shopping Gallery, Central i-City, Gamuda Quayside Mall, Lot 10, Cheras Leisure Mall, MyTown, The Linc KL, Setia Walk Mall and Megah Rise Mall.
Although Shell has its own application, its Shell Recharge EV chargers are activated via ParkEasy which is available to download on Google Play Store and Apple App Store. Unlike other charge point operators such as Gentari, JomCharge and ChargeEV which have started to migrate to kWh-based pricing for EV charging, Shell Recharge EV chargers are all priced based on time.
For its DC fast chargers (up to 180kW) located at Shell Stations along the North-South Expressway, they cost a staggering RM4.00 per minute which isn’t great for EVs that can’t take advantage of 180kW DC fast charging. However, for its AC chargers, they are priced more reasonably on per hour basis.
For those who don’t know, Shell Malaysia acquired a 50% stake in Pixelbyte Sdn Bhd, the company that runs ParkEasy. ParkEasy started as a parking reservation app where drivers can book parking lots which are protected by electronically controlled barriers. These parking lots can be booked up to 1 hour in advance and there are extra booking and hourly fees if you wish to use these lots.
In the past few years, they have added EV charging to its parking reservation offering and this solution allows EV owners to book their lot in advance. In a way, this provides assurance for EV owners who need to charge urgently as you can book the charger before you drive to the location. Typically, most locations offer a cheaper weekday rate of RM6 for the first 2 hours which is pretty affordable for EV charging. However, during the weekends, most of these lots cost RM5 for confirmation and an hourly fee of RM2.80/hour.
Your parking time starts when you lower the barrier upon arrival and you’ll have to activate the EV charger from the ParkEasy app. Similarly, your parking session ends after you lift up the barrier when you exit the parking lot. Do note that the ParkEasy fees are only for the reserved lots and you’ll have to pay for any applicable parking fee for the location. While most ParkEasy lots have an AC charger, these parking lots can be reserved by non-EVs as it is indicated “OPEN TO ALL CARS”.
Another alternative EV charging location at Bukit Bintang is ChargEV’s Kempower chargers at Berjaya Times Square. These DC fast chargers are capable of pushing up to 320kW for 800V architecture EVs and they are currently priced at RM1.20 per kWh.
Thanks @azlan96 for the tip!
Related reading
- Shell Recharge Pavilion KL: Here are the DC and AC charger pricing, idle and parking fees
- Shell Recharge Pavilion KL has 4 EV charging bays with 60kW DC and 22kW AC chargers
- Shell and BYD open world’s largest EV charging station in China with 258 DC fast charging points
- ParkEasy users can now activate Shell Recharge DC fast chargers in Thailand
