Ampol is to acquire electric-vehicle charging operator Evie Networks for $225 million, more than tripling the fuel company’s charging capacity as battery-powered car sales accelerate across Australia.
The agreement will give Ampol full ownership of Evie and add more than 1,000 charging bays to its existing AmpCharge network. The combined business will operate 1,425 bays across more than 400 sites nationwide.
Ampol, which runs hundreds of petrol stations and the Lytton oil refinery in Brisbane, said the acquisition would help it respond to rising demand for public fast-charging infrastructure.
Matt Halliday, Ampol’s managing director, said the deal would position the company to “capture growth” as more motorists adopted electric vehicles and demand for charging increased.
Electric vehicles now account for more than a quarter of new car sales in Australia, up from less than 10 per cent 12 months ago. The shift has been driven by the arrival of more affordable models and sharp increases in fuel prices linked to the war in the Middle East.
Ampol said usage of its roughly 100-site AmpCharge network had risen sharply this year, alongside a doubling in sales of electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids. Charging sessions and the amount of energy supplied at its sites both more than doubled during the first half of 2026.
“This gives us confidence in the strength of the business case that complements our traditional fuels business,” Mr Halliday said.
He added that many Australian households had no practical way to charge a vehicle at home, while public infrastructure was also important for commercial fleets, rideshare operators and motorists travelling longer distances.
There are more than 1,300 public charging sites operating across Australia, with more than 4,000 individual charging ports. More than half are DC fast chargers rated above 50 kilowatts, operated by companies including Evie Networks, EVX, Chargefox and Tesla, as well as service station groups and motoring clubs.
Riz Akhtar, founder of EV data analytics firm Carloop, said the growth in electric-vehicle ownership was outpacing the expansion of public fast-charging infrastructure.
Evie’s principal shareholder is Trevor St Baker, an investor in Australia’s energy industry whose interests include coal-fired power stations and electric-vehicle infrastructure.
The acquisition remains subject to clearance from the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission and is expected to be completed in the first half of 2027.
