The European charging network Ionity has announced the return of its Ionity Passport subscription from June 6th. This offer comes back with a formula that reduces the costs of fast charging electric vehicles on the highway. The aim is to attract more customers who want to charge their car at a lower cost, especially during the summer holidays.
A new Ionity subscription for more affordable fast top-ups
Historically, Ionity was not known for offering affordable rates compared to other players in the fast charging market. The standard tariff of €0.69 per kWh could represent a significant cost for users. However, with the introduction of the new Ionity Passport offer, the charging price becomes more attractive.
The Ionity Passport subscription, offered at a monthly rate of €11.99, allows users to benefit from a reduction of €0.20 per kWh consumed. Thus, the price of recharging on the Ionity network for subscribers goes to €0.49/kWh.
ionity vs. other energy providers on the highway
Let’s compare this new offer with those of other energy suppliers on the highway:
- Lidl: €0.40/kWh
- Electra: €0.49/kWh
- Fastned: €0.59/kWh
- Ionity (without subscription): €0.69/kWh
- Ionity (with subscription at €11.99/month): €0.69/kWh
- Tesla (without subscription): €0.47/kWh
- Tesla (with subscription at €12.99/month): €0.37/kWh
- Total energies: €0.62/kWh
Without a subscription, Ionity remains one of the most expensive providers on the market. However, thanks to the Ionity Passport subscription, the company becomes more competitive and affordable than Fastned and Totalenergies.
[media id=”1096719″ align=”center” copyright=”Les Numériques” watermark=”no” exif=”no”]Round trip Paris-Marseille: comparison of the Ionity subscription versus other providers./media]
To compare prices, we simulated a Paris-Marseille round trip with a Tesla Model 3 and an MG MG4 Luxury.
Our reference vehicle, the Tesla Model 3 Propulsion, will have recharged 220 kWh for a total cost of €93.60 (excluding tolls, therefore).
As for the MG4 Luxury, the car will require a charge of 280 kWh to travel the Paris-Marseille round trip. It is the operator Lidl which is the cheapest with a bill of €111.80. Next are the Tesla Superchargers, the total amount of which is €115.60 (including the €12.99 subscription). If you do not want to subscribe to Tesla, the bill will be €130.30 for the same recharged capacity. Then comes Ionity, which rises in the rankings thanks to its subscription. You will have to pay €137.20 (including the €12.99 subscription).
Among the most expensive operators, the round trip will cost you €190 at Totalenergies, while Ionity without subscription will relieve you of €193.20.
Although Ionity is around €20 more expensive than Tesla, the significant advantage is that this service provider allows you to charge your vehicle without leaving the highway.
A more flexible subscription to get closer to the Tesla offer
Apart from improving pricing, Ionity also met user expectations by removing the annual commitment from the Ionity Passport subscription. From now on, the subscription is done on a monthly basis for a cost of only €11.99. This flexibility makes the offer more accessible by allowing users to take advantage of advantageous rates, even for limited use.
Ionity’s initiative to offer a no-commitment subscription is a welcome strategy, which should attract many customers this summer. It will be interesting to see if this offer will influence the fast charging market and if Electra, Fastned and Totalenergies will follow this trend.