Often surprises afterwards
Only 13 percent of EV drivers indicate that they always have insight into what that charging will cost prior to public charging. For the rest, it is sometimes or always guesswork, which often leads to nasty surprises afterwards.
This weekend it turned out that it is very difficult to clarify exactly what electric driving costs. This is even more difficult for EV drivers who depend on public charging stations. Radar conducted research among 1,600 of them. 80 percent of those people would like to know in advance what the charging will cost, which mainly raises the question of why the remaining 20 percent apparently have no interest in this. Only 13 percent of the respondents indicate that the price of public charging is clear in advance in all cases. In three-quarters of the cases, that rate only appears afterwards, when the invoice arrives. 44 percent of the respondents indicate that the amount on that invoice is occasionally a major setback. In addition to the price per kWh, the additional costs, such as possible starting rates or a surcharge per minute, are often a reason for surprises afterwards.
The vagueness in the field of charging rates applies to both fast chargers and public ‘slow’ charging stations. Although half of the respondents look for the rate in an app beforehand, it often turns out not to be found there. The website of the charging station supplier in question is also not always up to date.
Now there is a fairly simple solution to all these problems, in the form of a charge card that always applies the same rate. This possibility is not known to everyone, according to this study. Only half of the respondents know that such passes exist. 58 percent of EV drivers have more than one charge card, of which two-thirds say they have one ‘just in case’. At 40 percent, the range of passes is intended to be able to pay the lowest rate everywhere, but Radar rightly notes that there is little point if those rates are not clear.
About a year ago, the Consumers’ Association also concluded that charging rates are often hardly transparent. Both national and European politicians are increasingly calling for something to be done about this, so the situation in this area may improve in the coming years.
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– Thanks for information from Autoweek.nl