Recharging your electric car quickly isn’t necessarily expensive, according to the insider network. We take a look at the different networks available, as well as the prices associated with them in early 2023. Surprise, a network we didn’t necessarily expect makes it out of the game…
Long trips by electric vehicle continue to be a concern in 2023. Sometimes rightly so, with necessary trip planning, and other times mistakenly, with the impression that the trip will not be feasible under good conditions.
A particular point of attention concerns the price of recharging your electric car on the go. Indeed, if refueling electrons at home is relatively cheap (less than 3 euros per 100 km, compared to thermals that cost more than 10 euros per 100 km), it is not really cheap when fast charges are needed for long journeys.
So let’s take stock of what it really costs, and of the charging networks that manage to offer a competitive rate at the beginning of 2023. Finally, to better choose between Tesla, Ionity, Fastned, Totalenergies and the others, you can find our table summary below that allows you to see at a glance the stations to favor according to your vehicle.
Many fast charging networks available
The map of fast charging stations in mainland France is looking great in March 2023, as you can see below.
The white areas are almost ancient history., even if that means not being difficult on the network you prefer. In terms of open terminals, if we count only those of a power greater than 100 kW, we reach more than 4,600 terminals for 878 stations.
The four big players in terms of terminals are Tesla (138 stations), Ionity (120 stations), Allego (100 stations) and Totalenergies (93 stations).
However, there are notable differences between all these networks, which undoubtedly make some more favored than others. Location can play a particular role, with Tesla Superchargers rarely found in highway service areas, but at times of major junctions, the number of terminals found at a station can be a determining factor.
In this game, tesla pulls it off great Therefore, the average American company is in more than 12 charging stations per Superchargeragainst 4.8 for Ionity, 4.5 for Totalenergies and 4 for Allego. Suffice to say that if you have to stand in line to recharge, there will be far less waiting at a Tesla Supercharger than anywhere else.
Finally, when you want to recharge while roaming, network reliability is necessarily something one has in mind. And here again, Tesla shows its superiority: availability rates for Tesla superchargers exceed 99.5%, while Avere recently reported an average unavailability of 22% for fast chargers over 150 kW in France.
Top up cards or subscriptions to limit costs
Today, on the largest fast charging networks in France, the costs vary from 0.40 to 0.79 euros per kilowatt hour, that is, from single to double. Considering a motorway consumption of 20 kWh / 100 km, this corresponds to a price of 8 to 16 euros for 100 kilometers.
Unlike gasoline prices, which are less heterogeneous, So fast charging rates form a huge gap based on location and sometimes even time of day.. Allego or Tesla in particular have chosen to define a period that goes from 4:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m., where the rates are higher than the rest of the time.
Some carriers offer ways to limit costs, while making sure to capture customers instead of going to the competition. It is the case of Tesla or Fastned, which offer monthly subscriptions to charge cheap. There are also plenty of charging cards that allow you to charge almost anywhere, but it’s not nearly as cool as it used to be.
Tesla allows owners of vehicles of another brand to subscribe for 12.99 euros per month, to benefit from a 25% discount on Supercharge prices. Thus, considering an average saving of 15 cents on the kilowatt hour rate, the subscription is profitable as soon as the monthly consumption exceeds 86 kWh. Then we can consider that on long trips of 500 kilometers or more, the monthly subscription is amortized in a single trip.
Tesla has the good idea to offer his subscription without any commitmentwhich allows casual cyclists to take it for only one month. Fastned offers the same systemwith a subscription at 11.99 euros per month, reducing the cost from 0.59 to 0.44 euros per kilowatt hour. From 80 kWh recharged in the month, the subscription becomes profitable.
| Grid | Commitment | Monthly price | profitable after | Discount on the public rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| tesla | 1 month | €12.99 | 86 kWh | 25% |
| fasted | 1 month | €11.99 | 80 kWh | 25% |
Finally, Ionity is another player that previously offered a subscription, but this one was stopped at the end of 2022. The offer that should succeed Ionity Passport has yet to be revealed. the difference was that your offer committed the customer for one year, which required very frequent charging on Ionity terminals to be profitable. Today, customers pay 0.69 euros per kilowatt hour in Ionitywhich is more expensive than the rest of the players, except Allego, which is at the same price (and even 0.79 euros between 4 and 8 p.m.).
Tesla’s superchargers are attractive again
We told you in 2022 about the famous repeated price increases of Tesla superchargers, in a context of energy crisis where sky-high prices had become the norm. 2023 seems to be quite differentsince if a few months ago recharging with Tesla Superchargers was economically interesting, it is not always the case anymore.
pyre, charging for less than a Tesla Supercharger has almost become the exception, while it was the rule a few months ago. Indeed, we notice a average price of Tesla superchargers at 0.42 euros per kilowatt hour in off-peak hours and 0.46 euros in peak hours (from 4 to 8 p.m.). For vehicles of other brands that do not pay the monthly subscription of 12.99 euros, the rates are respectively 0.55 and 0.62 euros. We summarize it in the following table.
| Tesla Supercharger Rate | no subscription | With subscription (or Tesla vehicle) |
|---|---|---|
| full hours | €0.62/kWh | €0.42/kWh |
| Rush hours | €0.55/kWh | €0.46/kWh |
By contrast, the biggest competitors are all more expensive and a single lesser-known network offers more attractive rates :
- Allego – 0.69 euro/kWh (0.79 euro/kWh at peak times)
- Ionity – 0.69 euro/kWh
- Total energy – 0.62 euro/kWh
- Fasting – 0.59 euro/kWh (0.44 euro/kWh with subscription)
- Electra – 0.49 euros/kWh
- IEC charge – 0.30 euro/kWh
These rates are subject to change, but today, it is clear that for a Tesla as for other brands, recharging in a Supercharger is economically attractive. If we add to this the number of terminals available, reliability and ease of use, it is difficult to beat Elon Musk’s firm in 2023.
How much does it cost in practice to quickly recharge?
The price of a recharge per kilowatt hour is very useful to quickly compare the different operators, but to find out how much a charging session will actually cost you With or without a subscription, it’s not ideal.
Indeed, you have to know the size of your vehicle’s battery on the one hand, and based on that, anticipate the amount of energy that you will have to add at each stage. We also have a whole series related to long trips, so you can see more clearly the costs associated with fast charging.
To see more clearly, we have selected four different vehicles, all with a different size battery. These are the Renault Mégane E-Tech EV40 (40 kWh), the MG4 (51 kWh), the Tesla Model 3 Propulsion (60 kWh) and finally the Hyundai Ioniq 6 (77 kWh).
In fast charging, a classic session will not completely fill the battery: first of all, few dare to venture around 0% battery remaining before recharging, and charging up to 100% is not inefficient. Indeed, the more you fill the battery, the slower it charges. Therefore, we consider charging sessions ranging from 10 to 80% battery for this exercise.
Finally note that the prices shown are valid for all vehicles with the same battery capacity as those selected. A Renault Mégane E-Tech EV60, a Tesla Model Y Propulsion or even a Hyundai Ioniq 5 with the smallest battery costs as much as the Tesla Model 3 Propulsion to charge from 10 to 80%.
| Vehicle | Renault Megane e-tech EV40 | MG4 | Tesla Model 3 Propulsion | hyundai ioniq 6 | Price per kWh |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tesla Superchargers (off-peak hours) | €15.40 | €19.64 | €29.65 | €0.55 | |
| Tesla Superchargers (peak hours) | €17.36 | €22.13 | €33.42 | €0.62 | |
| Tesla Superchargers with subscription (off-peak hours) | €11.76 | €14.99 | €17.64 | €22.64 | €0.42 |
| Tesla Superchargers with subscription (peak hours) | €12.88 | €16.42 | €19.32 | €24.79 | €0.46 |
| ionity | €19.32 | €24.63 | €28.98 | €37.19 | €0.69 |
| totalenergies | €17.36 | €22.13 | €26.04 | €33.42 | €0.62 |
| fasted | €16.52 | €21.06 | €24.78 | €31.80 | €0.59 |
| Fasted with subscription | €12.39 | €15.80 | €18.59 | €23.85 | €0.44 |
| Allego (off-peak hours) | €19.32 | €24.63 | €28.98 | €37.19 | €0.69 |
| Allego (peak hours) | €22.12 | €28.20 | €33.18 | €42.58 | €0.79 |
| electra | €13.72 | €17.49 | €20.58 | €26.41 | €0.49 |
| IEC load | €8.40 | €10.71 | €12.60 | €16.17 | €0.30 |
With such prices, the costs per 100 kilometers range between 7 and 17 euros, which is equivalent to between 4 and 10 liters of gasoline per 100 kilometers. However, this very high cost at first glance will be reduced with the vast majority of low-cost housing charges, or even free elsewhere. Under these conditions, the annual average is usually below 5 euros per 100 kilometers, or the equivalent of less than 3 liters of gasoline.
Finally, the added power in the battery is only part of the equation that defines the travel costs of an electric car. You have to take efficiency into account, and to travel cheaper, slowing down is also a good option.
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