Our advice for a long and relaxed journey with an electric car

Locating charging stations

Before you head out, it's best to take a look at the charging stations you plan to use on your route. In fact, with the developing charging network, there are sometimes some technical issues, although this is becoming increasingly rare. Since the distribution of charging stations is not yet extremely dense and homogeneous, a single charging station that is out of service can force you to extend your stage by several dozen kilometers.

To find out where to stop to charge, you can use online tools like the App for locating charging stations Chargemap use. Some manufacturers, such as Tesla, integrate their own route planner on the onboard display. Of course, motorists who are used to electric vehicles can rely on their own experience when choosing charging stops.

Before you set off, it is advisable to identify the charging stations that you want to use on your route.  The Chargemap map lists thousands of stations across Europe and offers a route filter. This shows all charging stations along the routes you will use.

 

You can configure it according to the type of plug in your vehicle, the charging power of your choice, and many other parameters.

The new advanced filters that in the Chargemap Plus premium offer such as the comfort filter or the charging network filter, make your search even easier.

For example, you can enter one or more charging networks to be preferred or avoided. This is very useful if you plan to drive on the highway and only want fast charging networks such as Tesla or Ionity Superchargers to be displayed.

And if it is important for you to be able to access additional services such as restaurants or shops, the comfort filter or the charging network filter will be very useful. The recharge time will go by so much faster!

There are also route planners that automatically determine which stations you need to use and what charging time is required for each stop. To do this, the tool uses information such as the departure point, arrival, vehicle model, battery level at departure, speed you plan to maintain, etc. However, you must continue to be vigilant because the indicated indications are theoretical. Their driving behavior is not necessarily linear over several hundred kilometers, and the road sometimes holds surprises.

Choosing the payment method for top-ups

Each charging network has its own access mode. Some offer payment by credit card, either directly via a corresponding terminal (currently quite rare), via a smartphone app or via a website whose address or QR code is displayed on the charging station. While it may seem convenient at first, this mode isn't necessarily the easiest or cheapest.

The most common means of payment is still the access badge. While it is possible to get a separate badge for each network, you will understand that this is not the optimal solution. In order not to have to juggle dozens of badges, companies called "mobility operators" market universal cards that allow access to a very large number of charging stations from different networks. This is the case of Chargemap and the Chargemap Pass, which gives you access to tens of thousands of charging stations throughout France and Europe. In fact, we have just passed the limit of 100,000 charging points compatible with the Chargemap Pass! 🎉 Nothing could be easier to find them: just activate the "Compatible with the Chargemap Pass" filter when searching in the application.

The price of topping up varies depending on the network, some are free, others are paid. The tariffs can be consulted directly at the charging station when using the badge connected to the network, in the mobile application or on the website of your mobility operator. To finance their operation, they often charge a small commission on the amount of charging, in the order of a few cents per kilowatt hour, unit or defined time window. With the badge of a mobility operator such as the Chargemap Pass you will have very quick and easy access to all the charging stations on your trip without any problems. You don't need to enter a credit card number, scan a QR code, download an app every time you charge, just use the badge and plug in your vehicle. Once the top-up is finished, you can view the price paid in your customer area.

Flexible driving

Itinerary planned, badge prepared, vehicle fully charged: time to hit the road. It is best to start with a high battery level of over 90%, so you limit the number of charging breaks and drive more relaxed. Drive normally and flexibly on the road and adapt your behavior to the characteristics of your electric car. Some models are more fuel-efficient than others and are equipped with a battery of different capacities. The speed to be chosen depends in particular on the distance to the next stop and the route profile. You can view the terrain profile of your route directly from the Chargemap routes function.

If you are going from the sea to the mountains, you should be aware that fuel consumption will be higher than planned due to the climb. If you have planned your route correctly and do not drive restlessly, the trip will go smoothly.

Also, do not reduce your comfort if your vehicle is equipped with a heat pump heater/air conditioning system: this is very energy-efficient and the impact on the range is low. Using the radio, headlights, on-board screen, and USB outlets won't affect your battery, so do yourself a favor.

All you have left is a noise, vibration and emission-free ride