Case Study: Brisbane BMW Dealership Workplace EV Charger Installation
Workplace charging for a dealer floor.
Workplace EV charging infrastructure at a Brisbane dealership.
A high-end Brisbane BMW dealership needed customer-facing and staff EV charging fast, with multi-bay load sharing, future expansion headroom, and full AS/NZS 61851 compliance. Hexar Solutions delivered the program end to end, from switchboard upgrade through OCPP commissioning, then stayed on for ongoing maintenance and three follow-up jobs over the next quarter.
The problem
The dealership ran an active service and showroom site with steady customer traffic and a 30-vehicle staff parking layout. EV-equipped customer cars were arriving for service with depleted batteries and there was no on-site charging. Staff EV ownership had grown to roughly a quarter of the team in 18 months. Management wanted a workplace charging program that handled both audiences without creating a queue or a billing argument.
Three constraints framed the job. First, the existing main switchboard was sized for showroom lighting, HVAC, and workshop tools, not for a row of 22kW chargers pulling 32A per phase each. Second, the customer wanted the rollout phased: a starter set of bays now, conduit and switchboard headroom for double the count in 24 months. Third, AS/NZS 61851 compliance and Form 17 certification were non-negotiable. The dealership is regularly audited by its OEM and a Mode 1 or non-compliant install would have failed both inspections.
The mistake we needed to avoid on this job was the one we see most: sizing the supply for today’s count instead of the realistic two-year load. Adding bays later costs more than over-sizing the head-end on day one.
The solution
Hexar Solutions ran the full design-through-commissioning program in three stages, all under one contractor.
Stage one: supply and switchboard. We assessed the existing main switchboard against the planned phase-one and phase-two charger load, then lodged the Energex application for a supply upgrade large enough to carry double the initial bay count. Six weeks of Energex lead time ran in parallel with the showroom-floor civil works. The new main switch, sub-board, and dedicated EV distribution panel were specified with full RCD protection (Type B units for DC residual currents on the 22kW AC chargers), AS/NZS 3000:2018 Section 4.18 final subcircuit segregation, and clearly labelled isolation devices reachable from the bay each circuit feeds.
Stage two: hardware and load management. Initial fit-out covered Tier 2 three-phase 22kW AC wall units across the customer-facing service bays and staff parking lines, with all bays cabled back to a single dynamic load management head-end. The DLM controller monitors total site demand against the upgraded supply ceiling and trims individual bay output when peak hits, so all bays stay live even when the workshop tools are running at full chat. Conduit was pulled to every future bay position in the same trenching pass, so phase two needs hardware and a commissioning visit, not civil works.
Stage three: OCPP backend, signage, and certification. Every charger was commissioned against an OCPP 1.6J backend so the dealership can authorise customers separately from staff, bill or comp sessions as needed, and pull energy reports per cost centre. Bollards, line marking, and accessible signage were installed to the dealership’s brand standard. Form 17 certificates of testing and compliance were lodged with the Electrical Safety Office, all serial numbers logged, and a maintenance schedule handed to facilities.
Results
Commissioning ran across 5 site days once Energex approval landed. Total program from site assessment to handover took 11 weeks, with the Energex application as the long pole on the critical path. Zero defects were logged at commissioning. Form 17 was lodged and accepted without revisits.
Operational results in the first three months: 100% bay availability during business hours, peak-demand load trimming kicked in roughly twice a week without any user-visible impact, and the dealership reported no customer complaints about charge time. The OCPP reporting let the customer separate service-customer charging from staff use cleanly for cost allocation.
The dealership has since retained Hexar Solutions on a recurring electrical maintenance contract and we’ve completed three follow-on jobs across the site (workshop power upgrades and showroom lighting). Phase two charger expansion is scheduled for the next financial year and lands on the headroom we built in on day one.
Standards and compliance referenced on this job
- AS/NZS 3000:2018 Wiring Rules, Section 4.18 (EV supply equipment)
- AS/NZS 61851 EV supply equipment standard (Mode 3 AC)
- AS/NZS 4777.2 (planned for future solar pairing)
- Queensland Electrical Safety Regulation 2013, Form 17 lodged
- Energex connection requirements for installations above 32A per phase
- OCPP 1.6J backend integration for session control and reporting
Planning a commercial EV install?
Planning a commercial, fleet or multi-bay EV install? Send your scope and we’ll provide a detailed proposal within 48 hours. Call 1300 365 700 or request a site assessment. Commercial site visits are free across Brisbane.
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