Taking your EV on holiday? Read our tips, tricks and tales

In Europe, the summer holidays are just around the corner – and with airlines struggling to cope with the surge in traveller numbers, many people are opting to drive to their destination. This could be a cause for nerves among any new electric vehicle (EV) drivers with uncertainty about range and charging, but there’s no need to worry!

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This blog was originally published by ALD Automotive | LeasePlan, now Ayvens.

At LeasePlan, we’ve been driving EVs for years. We’ve collected some top tips from our colleagues to make your electric road trip a (summer) breeze …

Three things to remember

Plan ahead: With an electric car, a little planning goes a long way. When planning your route, make sure you’ll pass enough charging points (in the right places). Did you know you can use a route planner specially designed for EVs? These are a good option: often they’ll plot charging stops based on your estimated battery level. Planning your charging stops ahead of time means you can combine charging with sightseeing, shopping or meals. Try Lidl for groceries - its stores offer customers free charging.

**Find the best apps: **In your everyday driving, you’ll probably manage with a single app that helps you find charging stations, but if you’re travelling abroad or even touring multiple countries, you might find one app just isn’t enough. We recommend downloading a few apps, such as:

a. ChargePoint: The largest EV charging network across the United States and Europe. With the app you can find available charging points and start, track and pay for your charging sessions.

b. Plugsurfing: Fast, intuitive app – create a free account to get the most out of it. It’s possible to pay for your charging through Plugsurfing or to use the app to just find stations and not manage payment.

c. Travelcard: If you have a charge key with Travelcard, check out its app, which lists all charging stations where the key is accepted.

Check your charging cable and card: For longer road trips, it’s important to have a few charging options. We recommend bringing a cable that can plug into a conventional socket, in addition to your normal cable, in case of emergencies. You might also need an extra charging card for your travels. Not all cards will work at all charging locations, so check your planned route before you set off.

Which app is right for you?

Chargemap – great for a European road trip

Chargemap is one of the most popular charging apps and is trusted by a large community of users. The contributions of EV drivers – including photos, ratings and updates – are essential to the app’s success. However, for journeys outside Europe we recommend looking at more local apps.

Pros

Filtering possibilities, including cable type, networks and station ratings
Allows you to adjust battery start and end levels
Features users’ photos and ratings of charging stations

Cons

Chargemap pass is heavily promoted in the app
No option to select alternative routes

Shell Recharge – find a charger quickly and easily

Shell Recharge focuses purely on chargers – and it does the job well! The app has information on 300,000 charging points in Europe, with real-time details on prices and charger availability. With a simple design and an intuitive user interface, it’s a pleasure to use. The only thing missing is a route-planning feature (but there are plenty of other apps for that).

Pros

Fast, easy-to-use mobile app
Great network coverage

Cons

No route-planning feature

A Better Routeplanner – good for planning longer journeys ahead of time

A Better Routeplanner(ABRP) is best for mapping out longer trips, ahead of time. You’re able to customise your journey in great detail, including information such as your EV make and model, starting battery charge, extra weight, maximum speed and battery degradation. You can also choose the types of chargers or charging network you prefer. The biggest downside is the design: it’s not easy to navigate on a mobile, so we recommend using your desktop. Even so, it takes a bit of clicking around to find everything you might need.

Pros

Can select your car make & model
Lets you adjust your battery’s starting level and estimated degradation
Possible to choose stops at specific locations or with certain facilities

Cons

Web version isn't easy to use
No overview of charging station availability

Tesla Superchargers for non-Tesla drivers

In good news for all EV drivers, Tesla is starting to open their Supercharger network to people who drive an EV but not a Tesla EV! This is still in a pilot phase but for many people living in Europe, the possibility to charge at a Tesla Supercharger is available now. There are a few things you need to know before heading to your local Tesla Supercharger with your EV but once you’re set up, you’re good to go.

Download the Tesla app To use the Tesla Supercharger network, you will need to download the Tesla app and create an account. To find a Supercharger station you will need to select “Charge your non-Tesla”. Find more information on Tesla’s website

Only available in the following countries* For now, it is only possible to use a Tesla Supercharger if you live in one of the following countries and are travelling to one of the countries in the list.

Australia, Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Iceland, Italy, Luxembourg, Mainland China, The Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, United Kingdom, United States. (As of June 2023)

Tips on using a Supercharger point

The Supercharger cable may not reach all EV charging ports due to the short length. We recommend testing to see if a Supercharger site will work for your EV before counting on it for a holiday.
Only vehicles with a CCS connector will be able to use Tesla Superchargers
Pricing differs depending on the site, but you can find the rate in the Tesla app

Tales from the road

Of course, charging is only one aspect of driving an EV – but when it comes to taking an electric car on a long trip, it’s most common concern we hear. Hopefully, the above advice will put drivers’ minds at rest, but if you’re curious to hear from real EV drivers about their holiday experiences, check out our EV road trip stories!