Charging problems

Charging problems? The reasons can be many. Wrong app, wrong app, wrong card/chip, card reader out of order, wrong post, post out of order and more.

Expensive charging abroad

Posted 10/09/2024 by Terje Bjørnstad

Everyone knows that it is more expensive to charge along the road than at your own wall charger. But is it also more expensive to charge abroad? Here are some fresh numbers!

Nettavisen has written about Michelle Fjeldberg from Drammen who was on a car holiday with his family in Germany. Charging prices there were significantly higher than in Norway. Although the family eventually found out which stations they had to steer clear of, their total charging expenses ended up being NOK 4000 for 2500 km. It is more expensive than what it would have cost to drive a fossil car.

We have just arrived in the south of France after driving three days across Europe – 2747km to be exact. Our charging costs were "only" NOK 2398 - quite a bit less than what the family from Drammen had to pay. Nevertheless, there is no doubt that charging along the road costs more than you might think.

It pays to plan the trip

One of our advantages was that we drove on familiar roads. We know well which charging stations are good. "Good" charging stations are not only about price, but also about availability. A family on holiday probably doesn't mind paying extra to avoid having to take detours, or charging in a deserted field with no service offer. Increased charging costs can also be incurred if you charge via a 3rd party app that mediates charging for "all" stations. The advantage is that you can charge from unknown electricity companies, but the price can be more expensive.

I recommend planning ahead, although it can spoil the impulsiveness of a road trip. One of the joys of a car holiday is being able to drive where you want, when you want. But remember that there can be a long distance between chargers - especially fast chargers. It may also happen that the charger does not work on your car, even if the app shows that it should. We have also discovered several times that charging posts have been replaced by a different brand with different IDs than what the app shows. Not only should you know if there is a charger where you are going - you should also know at least one alternative. Then you also get the opportunity to prioritize price.

Crazy charging prices?

What to say about charging prices of NOK 11 and 12 per kW-hour?

On our trip, we mainly used Tesla Superchargers - all were also open to brands other than Tesla. Converted to Norwegian kroner, charging prices per kW hour were as follows:

4,69 in Sweden average between Kungälv and Löddeköpinge
3,25 in Denmark Middelfart.
4,75 in Germany average between Kaltenkirchen, Northeim-Nord, Reiskirchen and Herbolzheim
3,78 in France, Montélimar

A couple of days earlier we had charged at the Tesla Supercharger, Brokelandsheia in Norway for 4,15 per kW-hour. Tesla is not significantly more expensive abroad, and the prices are as expected.

Stated prices

In Nettavisen's article, Ionity was referred to as a "reasonable" alternative at NOK 7,80 per kW-hour. Reasonable compared to other stations that demanded NOK 11 and 12 for one kW-hour. According to the Ionity app, 1 kWh currently costs 6,80 euros - or NOK 8,05 at today's rate in Germany (Bruchsal and Nörten-Hardenberg). In France, the stated price is 0,6017 euros. It fits well with what we had to pay. Converted to Norwegian kroner, charging prices at Ionity were NOK 7,00 both at Lyon and in Narbonne.

In comparison, one kW-hour in Norway (Ionity Brokelandsheia) costs NOK 5,40. The prices in Germany and France are therefore higher, but not exorbitant compared to what you usually have to pay to charge along the road in Norway as well. One kW-hour at refill og Connect costs NOK 5,99.

During long-term stays in France without a home charger, we are dependent on charging on external chargers. The prices here are as follows:

6,32 Lidl (mediated via Plugsharing)
6,32 Allego (mediated via Electromaps)
5,80 Electra (7,00 between 14:00-19:00)

Stated charging prices may be "from prices". French Electra, for example, offers a lower price outside "prime time", which may also be common with other electricity suppliers. As mentioned, it can be more expensive to charge via an app from a 3rd party supplier (intermediary). On random samples from well-known charging points, I can see that "my" intermediaries operate with slightly higher prices than the electricity companies themselves state, but I am unsure whether this is because the prices are not updated or whether there are real mark-ups.

Tesla charging at Electra

Toyota AurisHybrid

Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV Hybrid

Price examples

Number of km: 2737

Car 1 – Toyota Auris hybrid

Petrol consumption 100-120 km/h: 0,55 litres/10km
Amount of fuel: 137 litres
Fuel cost: NOK 3013 *)

Car 2 – Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV hybrid

Petrol consumption 100-120 km/h: 0,75 litres/10km
Amount of petrol: 205 litres
Fuel cost: NOK 4089 *)

*) Petrol cost is calculated according to petrol prices in the countries we have driven through and distributed according to the number of miles traveled in each country.

Car 3 – Tesla Model 3

Power consumption 100-130 km/h: 19,7 kWh/100 km
Amount of electricity: 540,7 kWh
Fuel cost: NOK 2398

Conclusion

It is cheaper to drive an electric car than a fossil car through Europe, provided you have a favorable charging agreement. In our case it was Tesla. Car owners with a charging agreement with Ionity can charge more cheaply than "street customers". If we had charged at Ionity as a "straight customer", the charging costs would have been about as high as if we had driven a Toyota Auris hybrid. For us, who cross Europe 4 times a year, we would have our annual charging costs increased by approx. NOK 4000. It is significant.

Advice 1: Charging agreement can provide price advantages.
Advice 2: Use the electricity companies' own app if possible.
Advice 3: Avoid charging when electricity is most expensive.

Electra charging station with charging prices and the option to pay by bank card (not tested). Once the person, car and payment details have been registered in the app, you can "Autocharge".

Ionity's charging agreement

By paying a fixed monthly amount, you can recharge at reduced prices. Passport Motion: NOK 65/month and 3,80 per kWh.
Passport Express: NOK 136/month and 3,00 per kWh. In Germany, Ionity's monthly price is roughly the same as in Norway, but the kW hours cost respectively 5,80 and 4,60, i.e. 1,5 times more than in Norway. See Ionity

Update 07.10.2024/XNUMX/XNUMX – Cash with a Norwegian bank card

After charging for several weeks with Electra (French electricity company), I was forced to pay by bank card because the app showed "server error". So far, Electra has been the cheapest company in our local area. Prices are €0,49 per kWh outside prime time. But if you pay by card, the price is €0,59. Fair enough - and when I had charged 59,7 kWh it read NOK 410 on the display. Absolutely correct. But when I checked the account, I saw that a fee of €15 had also been deducted so that the kWh price would have been NOK 9,96! Fortunately, the fee was refunded after a couple of days. Later, in Germany paying by bank card resulted in me being charged €45 before I started charging. Later I had the excess amount refunded.

See

expensive charging — To Europe with an electric car in 2023

Nettavisen: Michelle was shocked by high prices when she charged her electric car on holiday in Germany

The petrol stations take charge of the charging

Posted 10/06/2024 by Terje Bjørnstad

Recently I had a completely new experience in connection with charging. I turned into a gas station, stopped at a charging post, "covered" the card and inserted the connector. So simple - so brilliant!

OKQ8 station on Rasta Håby in Munkedal, Sweden, is one of the company's 100 fast charging stations where you can "cover" the bank card. At our station, the charging posts were placed clearly visible in front of the entrance to the service building - not hidden away out of sight. It was all like refueling a fossil car. Why haven't any petrol stations figured this out before?

As easy as filling up with gas

It is of course nothing new to find charging stations near a petrol station. This is often done, but few petrol companies have thrown themselves into the battle to capture their own charging customers. They have let other operators operate charging stations in the station area. If they, like OKQ8, had set up their own chargers in front of the entrance to the service building, they would not only have been able to hijack customers from other charging operators - they could have been visited by nye customers who want charging to be as easy as filling up with petrol.

Charging operators can be divided into the following 3 groups:

Car manufacturers (Tesla, Ionity, Free2Move)
Power companies (Fortum, More, Kople, ABB)
Gas stations (Circle K, Uno-X, YX, Shell)

In addition, people can use general charging solutions from 3rd party operators who provide charging contacts for several operators. These are offered as member benefits through Electric car association, – as well as free through Elton, Fortum Charge & Drive, Plugshare, Plugsurfing with more.

French TotalEnergies

It looks like the petrol companies (energy companies) are in the process of strengthening their position on the charging market. The French energy company Total has installed new chargers at its stations along the main roads in France. In a few weeks, they have kicked out other operators in favor of their own charging stations - clearly visible and with card readers to be in line with new EU regulations.

Uno-X and YX

Here at home, Uno-X and YX have started to set up charging stations where, among other things, you can pay with a bank card. Norwegian oil companies are unlikely to benefit from kicking other operators out of their stations, but will probably be able to place their own charging sockets closer to the entrance to the service building where the fuel pumps are also located. It is also important to secure the card terminals against skimming and vandalism.

Circle K

Circle K have not yet managed to tighten their grip on their own charging stations. Many connect Circle K w/ Tesla og IONITY. They were early on in offering charging from other operators. In addition, they have their own chargers that are operated with the app Circle K Charge or by scanning a QR code, but no card readers. Unfortunately, the app works so poorly that the charging service appears useless to many *).

The 3rd party apps are struggling

On my way through France, Germany, Denmark and Sweden, I have seen new charging stations and that existing charging stations have gained new operators. A quick review of the charging apps unfortunately shows that many of the changes have not been updated on the maps. In several places where we have stopped to charge, I have seen that the IDs on new charging contacts do not match what the apps show. If you discover a new charging station, it is therefore not certain that it can be found on your app.

False security

Payment by card seems safer than an app, but can also give false security. Twice in the last few days I have tried to pay with local and international payment cards at French charging stations. They read the cards, but the reverse control doesn't work. Perhaps the card reader is mounted for visibility - to satisfy any EU inspectors?

Ideally, you should be able to pay at the register at the petrol station when the card readers are not working - in the same way as when you fill up with petrol and diesel. It is probably the next step in development - and a service that only petrol stations can provide. Hope they see the possibilities.

Fast charging with OKQ8

With 100 stations, OKQ8 is the largest in Sweden for super fast charging from 150 kW and up. The charge can be paid by bank card (Visa and Mastercard). The power supplier Skellefteå Kraft produces 100% renewable electricity based on wind and hydropower, as well as bioenergy. We have previously written about charging problems in Sweden. If you are driving in Sweden this summer, OKQ8 with a charging symbol are good places to take charging breaks.

*) What's wrong with Circle K Charge?

On the App Store has Circle K Charge received 135 feedbacks with an average score of 2,1 stars out of a possible 5. A search of the latest user comments clearly shows that this is by no means a good app. The expression "useless" is repeated frequently. We have installed the app on 2 mobile phones. On one, the map works, but all functions related to payment and login constantly fail with the message “We are experiencing technical problems. Please try again later." A good app would be able to provide a more in-depth description of what is wrong. On one of our other mobile phones, logging in works, but we have to pay by invoice - not card - and can't find any way to change this.

See

OKQ8.se

With an electric car to Europe this summer?

Posted 28/04/2024 by Terje Bjørnstad

Only since last autumn, several new charging stations have appeared along the main routes down through Europe. Driving an electric car is easier than ever. But it pays to plan your trip in advance instead of traveling on luck and piety.

Choose a good route

If you are going to drive through Germany, there are not that many route options to choose from. Autobahn 7 takes you from Denmark through almost all of Germany to Italy and Austria. Those going to France and Spain can either take Autobahn 1 towards Luxembourg after Hamburg, or follow Autobahn 7 down and take Autobahn 5 towards Frankfurt, Mulhouse and Basel. Both options take about the same amount of time, but the Autobahn 1 to Luxembourg does not have the same coverage of charging stations. If you choose that route with an electric car to Europe, you should plot the charging stations in advance. Along the Autobahn 7 and 5, on the other hand, the charging stations are close all the way. Several new charging stations have appeared since we drove there last autumn.

With an electric car to Europe, it is an advantage to have many charging stations along the way. One less problem. Where there are long distances between the charging stations, queues can easily form during the holiday season.

Ferry or Sweden?

It is not only about what is most effective, but also what one prefers. Last year we traveled with a dog, and chose to drive through Sweden. Now we took the Colorline from Larvik to Hirtshals, with an overnight stay in a hotel before we went on early the next morning. In low season, the crossing takes 3 hours and 55 minutes, with arrival no later than 1 hour before departure. On the trip you can enjoy a good buffet with food and drink - and a view of the fjord, or snooze in good recliners.

All roads meet in Kolding - whether you choose to drive via Sweden, or take the ferry from Larvik. If you look at the time consumption between Oslo and Kolding, the two alternatives can be compared in the following way:

Option 1. Ferry Larvik-Hirtshals

Drive Oslo-Larvik: 1,5 hours
Waiting in Larvik: 1,5 hours
Crossing: 4,0 hours
Driving time Hirtshals-Kolding: 2,5 – 3,5 hours
Charge/rest time: 0,5 hours (1 quick charge)
Total: 10,0 – 11,0 hours

Option 2: Drive through Sweden

Driving time Oslo-Kolding: 9,0 – 10,5 hours
Charge/rest time: 1,5 hours (3 quick charges)
Total: 10,5 – 12,0 hours

Both options make up a one-day stage and with an electric car they are also roughly the same price. Remember that you get a discount over the Øresund Bridge and the Storebælt Bridge with a toll tag from Fremtind.

We had a great trip over to Hirtshals - with our own table at the very front of the bow. A fantastic buffet with good food, snacks and all types of beverages for only NOK 299 per person (every day outside the season) - and greeted by friendly crew during the entire crossing.

Charging preparations

You should have all the charging apps installed in connection with a valid bank card before you set off. Also check that the apps have not logged you out, so you don't have to mess with passwords at the charging station. Many people experience problems registering on a charging app abroad. When I recently tried to install an app from a French charging company, I couldn't register because I didn't have a French mobile number. Nor are all solutions that accept Norwegian bank cards when you are abroad.

Charging companies and intermediaries

From our trip last fall, I boasted that I could use the charging app and charging chip from Fortum Charge & Drive at my local French charging stations. Today, Fortum Charge & Drive no longer works outside of Scandinavia. On the continent their app is worthless. The same applies to Elton's app.

Of course, you don't travel abroad with an app from just one charging agent. I also recently tested an app from plug surfing – the first time at a French charging post from Eng. It didn't work well. The map in the app showed that I was at the correct charging post, but when I was going to charge, I received a message that I was not at the charging post after all. The IDs in the app also did not match what was written on the bars. plug surfing showed data for charging posts that were previously some distance away at the same rest area - but which had now been removed!

A common mistake

A reviewer claims that half of the charging points on the map in plug surfing is wrong. This probably also applies to other intermediaries. I have experienced the same type of problem with Fortum Charge and Drive at a popular Norwegian charging station. In both Germany and France, new chargers have recently arrived from charging companies I have never heard of before. It must be a challenge for the companies that provide charging contacts to keep up to date. We still need the intermediaries, because some charging stations do not have their own app offer. I also like moderator apps that allow for comments - for example electromaps og plugshare.

Atmospheric lighting at Ionity.

Charging in tropical rain and storm surge - Narbonne

Need both

If you are on the move a lot, you should ensure that you have access to apps from international charging companies - not just intermediaries - both because the charging companies' own apps provide increased security (fewer errors) and because charging there can be cheaper. It may still be worth paying a little extra to be able to use an unknown charging station there er, instead of having to drive to another location just to charge from a well-known charging company.

Pay by bank card?

Although there is an EU requirement that it should be possible to pay for charging with a bank card, it is probably a long time before such solutions can be trusted. I have tried with normal cards at new charging stations in France, without success. The card is registered, but the authorization fails (time-out). My French bank card doesn't work either. I think it will take a long time before we can pay by bank card. *)

First charging customer?

Based on reviews from users, you should therefore not trust the app from plug surfing. But today I found a new charging station nearby that only existed on the map plug surfing. I went there - and sure enough - outside a local hotel two brand new 300kW charging posts were ready. They were set up last week. I chatted with the owner who was delighted to see that "his" charging station was listed on the map in a general app.

Book a hotel

I recommend booking a hotel room before you travel. We have experienced that good hotels along the road are filled up regardless of the season - either by tourists or business travelers. Finding suitable hotels requires a lot of research in advance. You can use Google Maps to find out the driving time based on the desired date and time. It is important to arrive at the hotel in good time before the reception closes for the evening. Use the booking apps to check reviews from previous guests. There are hotels that you should just drive past.

After a long day on the road, it's good to arrive at a pre-booked room

Live near the road or go into the nearest village?

It may be easier to get a place at hotels located a few kilometers off the motorway. Moreover, hotels in the villages offer more charm than the road hotels. We still prefer to stay close to the road in hotels for road users - often with chargers and parking facilities right outside. It is an indescribable feeling of happiness to see the lights of the hotel in the distance after a long day on the road in pouring rain and know that we have a room there waiting for us.

Customs and use on motorways

Germans don't like someone "occupying" a field. It doesn't matter how fast you drive, there is always someone who drives faster. If you are being overtaken by other cars, you are expected to pull over to the right if possible. It is perhaps more about custom and courtesy than about rules. It also increases the capacity of the road.

Remember "Rettungsgasse" in queues, where the cars in the left lane keep to the left and the cars in the middle lane stay to the right in their lane before stopping so that the emergency vehicles can pass freely.

On French motorways around Lyon, motorists are encouraged to regard the middle lane as a safety zone which is used to overtake or let other cars pass.

French motorways have a speed limit of 130 km/h and speed cameras have been set up along all motorways. They are small and hard to spot - and flash for the slightest infringement. If you drive a Norwegian car, it is not certain that you will receive any reminders in the post. I myself have been waiting for months - and still haven't received a letter 😉

🙂 Smiley face

Tesla Supercharger – more than ever
IONITY – a friend in need
The crew at Colorline SuperSpeed
Montra Skaga Hotel, Hirtshals
Hotel Pfefferhôhe, Alsfeld
VINCI aires et services

🙁 Surfing

Fortum Charge and Drive cut foreign chargers.
Plugsurfing with a twist in its data.

- And while you are in Germany, you can enjoy fine classics like these.

Parked above this nice Volkswagen in Soltau, Germany.

Classic Audi in Herbolzheim

*) Update 08.06.2024

Q8 has recently installed fast chargers in Sweden and Denmark with bank card payment - and they work! Just look for Q8 with charging symbol. When will other gas stations follow, think?

See

The petrol stations take charge of the charging

Charging complications in Sweden 2

Posted 17/08/2022 by Jonny Bunæs

New trip with electric car to Sweden. We left with good faith that errors and deficiencies at the charging stations had been rectified since we visited in August last year. But it hadn't gotten any better. Far from.

We arrived at Rasta in Värnamo where we had booked a room and thought this couldn't get any better! There were 4 free E.ON charging posts outside. Then we could connect the power to our new Ford Mustang Mach-e.

Or?

First on one charger. It didn't work. Neither do any of the others. The charging station appeared to be operational, but still did not accept the bank card that we could use everywhere in the Nordics. We also tried other payment cards. According to the user manual on the charging post, you could choose to pay with a charging chip, bank and credit card or the Easypark app. The user manual explained that the cards were read using "tapping", but this did not work for us, even after many attempts.

The last resort was to call E.ON's service number. There we met a nice lady called Olivia. She couldn't see why the charging post wouldn't work, but reset the terminal. Both she and we tried to make contact with it - still without success. In other words, the system was "Out of order". That's what was on the screen.

Charging complications in Sweden

No contact with the car

Charging post with instructions for use

out of order

Well, the charging stations didn't work, but we were happy that Olivia tried to help us and not like last year, when the exchange only had service until 17.00 p.m.

The charging station, which was now out of service, is located in a very central location by Broadest, just outside Värnamo where the E4 and Riksvei 27 cross each other. We weren't particularly optimistic about the journey on to Malmö the following morning. We had bad experiences on the same route a year ago that I described in the first article about charging complications in Sweden. The charging stations are simply not good enough and one can ask questions about whether the companies that supply these systems understand how important this is for everyone who drives an electric car?

Fortunately, there were several charging stations in the area. Would they work? - And would it be possible to get assistance if we had problems? It was getting late.

We found an available Ionity charging station near Circle K that not only worked, but gave better charging speed. Overall, we therefore didn't lose that much time. The charging post at Ionity worked as it should. It accepted the payment as expected and started charging. Fortunately, we then had no need to test assistance at the exchange. It was getting late.

Charging complete!

The fact that both ABB and E.ON have their logos on 4 charging stations that did not work outside Rasta does not inspire confidence. Both are solid, major players in this market.

If you are going to travel with an electric car in Sweden, you must be prepared for the charging systems not working. However, the share of electric cars is not as high as in Norway, but electric cars have been on Swedish roads for over 10 years. One of the common objections people have to electric cars is that they cannot be charged en route so that they can safely reach their destinations. If the suppliers in Sweden do not ensure that the charging stations work along the roads, people will still be skeptical.

E.ON — Atmospheric with Ionity - which, by the way, worked perfectly

A little apropos is that the undersigned already for approx. 20 years ago we had a cooperation agreement to build up an infrastructure at charging stations in Norway, when we believed that an expanded charging structure would be a critical factor for the spread of electric cars. Oslo Energi, ABB and JCDecaux were then involved in the planning of the charging structure in Oslo and the surrounding area under the name Charging power.

See

E.ON charge electric car >>

E.ON — Charging complications in Sweden

With XPeng G3 electric car in Sweden. XPeng worked well, but Swedish charging stations are not much to brag about. If you are going to drive an electric car in Sweden, you should read this post. See more >>

E.ON — Rechargeable roads with induction

nine norway — NIO changes batteries in 3 minutes

Charging complications in Sweden

Posted 22/08/2021 by Terje Bjørnstad

chargers — Xpeng G3 on tour in Sweden. Here at ABB's charging solution.

The infrastructure for electric car users is not as well developed in Sweden. If you are going to drive an electric car into Sweden, you should read this post written by Jonny Bunæs.

Xpeng was good to drive, but we got to experience how disastrously poorly developed the charging network is in Sweden. It reminded me of how it was here at home when I drove my electric car about 20 years ago - with registration number EL10052. We had come close to Gothenburg when we almost ran out of power!

Where should we charge?

We only had power left for a few kilometers! After an hour of trying to download apps, bad information and problems with getting an approved bank card and mobile phone from Norway, we were told that the charging station we were standing at was out of order. By then we had been at it for approximately 1 hour. Doesn't the electricity supplier know the state of their chargers so that we could be notified on the app right away? The telephone number that we could call was staffed until 17.00pm. It didn't help us much as it was 23.30pm!

We searched for other charging stations nearby and thought we had found one. The map gave poor options for detailed searches, and after searching the area for a long time, we found the charging station hidden behind a container! We charged up for an hour - enough to reach our destination, Värnamo in Jönköping. The trip further went well, except that we had to wait for more than 30 minutes, due to paving.

We arrived at our booked Airbnb apartment several hours late. It was around 5 in the morning when we woke up the host who could lock us in. It was not a particularly expensive room. But it was an expensive hourly rate since we only got to sleep there for two hours before we had to go to the agreed meeting.

Chargers that don't work

Aware of the damage, we wanted to fully charge before heading home. We found two charging points close to where we had lunch. One had one fast charger and one normal. When we got there to pick up the car to go to the next meeting, there was another electric car owner who wanted our charger. We had charged up to 50% and had to find a new station after the meeting to get as far as possible towards Oslo.

We then tested the second charging station which was a short distance away. Here we had to try three chargers before we found one that worked. It was strange that only one of three chargers worked. Lucky that there weren't more people who wanted to charge at the same time!

The price to charge here was over double what we paid at the previous station.

Sweden is several years behind Norway

In Sweden, the financial advantage of buying an electric car is not as great as in Norway. With such poor charging systems as we experienced, it may take many years before Sweden achieves an equally high percentage. As long as the Swedes do not take electric car users seriously, the country is not particularly suitable for electric cars. It can take 10-20 years to build up a similar charging network as here in the country.

Norwegians should be warned about how wretched the charging options are in Sweden and perhaps be happy that the border remains closed for a while! - Jonny Bunæs.