Charging your electric car at a fast charger you haven’t visited before can be both a confusing and infuriating experience.
More often than not, you have to download a new app, enter card details and create a new account to even be able to use the charger. In addition, prices often differ wildly between different chargers, or even on the same charger depending on whether you happen to have the right contract or subscription.
We at Nyheter24 have complained about this mess before.
Three concept cars Volvo should have produced
New EU law will solve the mess
On Saturday, April 13, a new EU law came into force that should, in theory, solve these problems, and make it easier to use the fast chargers.
Since then, it has been required that all newly installed, public fast chargers must offer the possibility to pay by card. The charging operators may therefore no longer require the car drivers to register an account, download an app or even pre-pay for their charging, on newly installed chargers.
The requirement does not apply to the chargers that are already installed. From 1 January 2027, all fast chargers in the EU must offer card payment regardless of when they were installed.
The motorcycle enthusiast Jan Emanuel: Here are his motorcycles
Also requires denser charging networks
In the same vein as the requirement for card payment before the EU, also a requirement for how often there should be fast chargers for electric cars and heavier electric vehicles along special designated routes within Europe.
In Sweden, this applies to the roads E6 from Malmö to Oslo in Norway via Gothenburg, E4 from Malmö to Luleå via Stockholm, E18 between Stockholm and Örebro, and E10 from Luleå to Narvik in Norway via Kiruna.
On these roads, by the end of 2025 at the latest, there must be fast chargers at least every six miles, where each station must be able to deliver at least 150 kW per charging point and 400 kW in total.
The requirements on the number of charging points and their effect are planned to be further tightened in 2027.
Driver’s license tourism: The way to trick yourself into a Swedish driver’s license
Dangerously easy to damage the electric car when changing tires – can be expensive