Some electromobilists took malicious pleasure in pointing out that the discourse of opponents of the electric car, concerning the great departures on vacation, had flopped. This was the subject of the August 10 Watt Else newsletter editorial.
” You will see this summer, when everyone will have to load at the same time on the holiday route, you will laugh less! This refrain, all electric vehicle drivers hear it over and over. This insidious remark is so entrenched that a strange phenomenon has multiplied on social networks: trip reports. Behind these stories are often hidden some attacks in order against thermal cars. It’s a good war!
The electric car gets its revenge
If, during the summer of 2022, we had been able to witness some tensions and galleys when recharging on certain highways, the observation has changed a lot this year. Of course, not everything is perfect yet., there have sometimes been saturated stations with a bit of a wait, broken terminals or payment problems. However, no matter how much I scanned the local networks and media in search of “scandal”, I drew a blank: no breakdowns of electric cars by the thousands on the side of the roads, no queues of several hours at the charging stations which turn into a fistfight… “They” promised us blood and tearsI am really disappointed!
On the contrary, the journeys of electric holidaymakers went so well that they were able to take revenge by making fun of thermal cars stuck in long queues at fuel pumps. We have read that the traffic jams to get out of the service area have slowed down the electric cars enormously, blocked by internal combustion vehicles which needed to refuel at more than 2 €/litre. Even for those for whom it was their first long electric trip, nothing really marred the experience. They had however been told that they were crazy and that it was going to be hell during the big departures.
A territorial network more in line with current needs
It must be said that in one year the landscape of electric charging on motorways has changed enormously, with: better coverage (even total coverage in certain sectors), new charging players and new stations with many more charging stations broadband. Moreover, certain recent stations, and certainly badly referenced on some GPS, made the joy of those who did not want to wait on other saturated areas.
To ensure the coup and make the recharging stop more fluid, personnel have been dispatched to certain more critical stations. It’s a little extra to manage the wait, help novices to trigger the load, quickly report faulty terminals. Finally, the bad habits of some drivers are sometimes the grain of sand that seizes the mechanics.
Without even talking about thermal cars, which for lack of space elsewhere want to park in front of the terminals, too many electromobilists push the recharge beyond 80% and unnecessarily squat places for long minutes. Some do it just to quietly finish their lunch, out of laziness to move their car, others out of ignorance or fear of missing out.
Some motorists do not realize that it often takes as long to gain 10% between 80 and 90% battery as it takes to recharge from 10 to 80%. It’s a considerable waste of time, even for the less in a hurry. Finally, if there is an advantage to remember with these great departures on vacation, it is that with traffic jams and reduced speeds, consumption in an electric car should not be too much of a problem on the motorway. It is therefore less worry about autonomy and refills to have.
Do you want to know everything about the mobility of tomorrow, from electric cars to pedelecs? Subscribe now to our Watt Else newsletter!