The bill before the first kWh
Installing a fixed DC fast charger in New Zealand typically lands between NZ$15,000 and NZ$60,000 per unit, and large multi-port depots can exceed NZ$350,000 once civil works are included. Installation — not hardware — is the dominant cost, often 60–80% of the total.
The biggest driver is the grid. Many depots need an upgraded supply or a new transformer to pull rapid-charging loads, and that means lines-company applications, trenching and switchgear. It is money spent before a single vehicle is charged.
Time is the hidden cost
Grid connection and transformer upgrades routinely take months, and at constrained sites they can stretch past a year. For a fleet that has already ordered electric vehicles, every week of delay is a week of running dual systems or leaving assets idle.
FireHorse removes the wait. Because our modular systems arrive fully built and do not need a grid upgrade, a depot can be charging in days, not years.
When mobile wins
Mobile and modular charging is the cheaper path whenever the grid cost is high, the timeline is tight, or the site is temporary or remote. Instead of a six-figure build you pay a predictable monthly lease, and the system is monitored and maintained for you.
Fixed infrastructure still makes sense for very high, very stable, single-site demand over a long horizon. For most commercial fleets scaling across several sites, leased modular charging is faster to deploy and easier to move as needs change.