Aldi is famous for their Special Buy products that are offered at significant discounts. These product often result in lines at the door, waiting for the store to open the day of the sale.
The latest product to hit Aldi Special buys is a portable EV charger. This product costs just A$199 and will go on sale next Wednesday, 26th February 2025.
The product description lists the following specs:
- EV Connector IP65
- Function box IP68
- Total Length 5m
- IEC 62196 TYPE 2 charging plug
- Over-temperature and plug temperature protection
- 2.4″ display screen
- Real-time monitoring data
- Charging reservation time setting
When it comes to charging technology, there’s a wide variety in terms of quality and a few key specs are missing here.. so I went looking.
I managed to track down the source, which appears to be Chinese-ecommerce website Alibaba.
The product is actually sold by supplier – Ningbo Hondy Technology Co., Ltd and is known as ‘Carmust Portable Level 2 TYPE 2 Ev Charger’.
The wholesale price that Aldi (and others) can buy them varies based on the quantity sold. These range from $78 to A72 each, leaving plenty of room for delivery fees and profit ahead of the retail price of A$199 to consumers.
- $78.00 (2 – 100 pieces)
- $76.00 (101 – 500 pieces)
- $74.00 (501 – 999 pieces)
- $72.00 (>= 1000 pieces)
So knowing this, should you buy one?
Personally I think there’s risks here that I would steer very clear of. I hope Aldi have done testing to ensure they meet Australian electrical standards, as the last thing anyone wants is to have poor quality charging equipment leading to a fire.
An alternative charger from EVSE costs A$325.00 –
An official Tesla Mobile Connector costs A$550 –
For those looking for detailed specs on the charger, you’re welcome.
For those wondering what the 3 buttons on the charger do, they are detailed below:
