Let me take you on an emobility journey, from car, to the mapping of chargers and on to our final destination, the chargers themselves: a holy trinity of car, charging and mapping means that the early mainstream EV driver will never know of range anxiety or of EV charger operational anxiety and the paucity of locations. A new, bright world of super fast 150 kW-plus chargers, of Google Maps integration of those chargers in-car, and of EVs that have great range and tech integration with chargers means that fast EV charging is fast becoming and absolute joy.
On the car
I test drove a Volvo EC40. It’s built on a legacy combustion engine platform, and has that slight heavy driver experience feel to it, but if you’re making the switch from I.C.E. to EV, you’ll likely like it. I’ve been driving an EV for eight years now, so I’m more comfortable with that lightness of feel of an EV. On that, I prefer the EX30, which is smaller and, accordingly sprightly.
EC40 drivers will also feel more comfortable with the familiar multiple displays of their former I.C.E. ride. Again, being a Tesla fan-boy, I prefer the single screen of the EX30, but I know that’s not usually to the taste of 50-somethings, like me. Elegant on the outside, elegant on the inside. Very Volvo. Then, there’s the Harman Kardon sound system. Love the quiet of EV, it gives your more sound quality with the increased levels of the tunes.
It’s a degree bigger than the EX30 and for families with three kids, two kids and a dog, or three hobbies with kids, this is the EV for you. Then, there is the mapping tech. Ah, the beautiful mapping tech from Google, delivering range reassurance.
On the map
What I love about the EX30 and the EC40 is the integration of Google Maps and how, like Tesla, it tech talks to the public charging network. Game changer. The bods at Google Maps have really integrated UK charging infrastructure into their mapping software. Tap in your destination and, boom, there is a first recommended high speed Osprey charging hub, right there on your screen. This was deeply reassuring, as I’d already tracked this particular Osprey hub in my own ZapMap research.
This means, on the mapping reassurance side, non-Tesla drivers are experiencing the kind of charging journey reassurance that Tesla drivers get with the Supercharger network. With the Supercharger network, you just know it’s going to work and be great. That, leads me on to the third variable of my reassuring EV Volvo journey, the chargers themselves.
On the charger
I’m one of the 60% with access to off-street domestic charging, so I actually rarely use public charging infrastructure. This gives me space and time between experiences of it, and that means that I notice the difference. And it is different. 40% of the UK’s high speed chargers have gone in the ground in the last 12 months, and it’s starting to show in a very reassuring way. However, public perception thinks differently. Vicky Read, the new CEO of charging industry body, ChargeUK, made the sage point that charging infrastructure is actually something like two years ahead of the public perception of it. My reassuring charging journey, in a reassuring Volvo backs that up. There is work for EV communicators to do to reframe public perception in line with charging reality.
When choosing a charger, I default to the established high speed charging networks I know and love: the triumvirate of charging triumphs that are InstaVolt, GRIDSERVE and Osprey. I’ll also factor in IONITY who are great, but at a price premium. My next trip, I’ll seek out some of the new Shell Recharge and BP Pulse chargers, to see what strides they’ve made.
This Osprey bank of chargers in Wisbech, Cambridgeshire, was located in the centre of bunch of retail facilities including a Morrisons. 12 beautifully appointed rapids including six CCS chargers pushing out up to 150 kW. And it did. Right across the charge to the best practice 80%, giving me 100 kW to 150 kW right through the charge. For someone whose first experience of public EV charging was on a first generation 7 kW charger, I always experience a child-like sense of wonder at just how much the tech has worked on. However, my historical experiences as an early adopter are irrelevant. Now, it’s all about the early to middle mainstream as we hurtle through 15% EV take-up, now, to 22% of new sales by the end of the year, heading into 30%, next year, and beyond.
Everything just worked. Simple debit card payment. Just worked. Cable with cable arm (good for people who find heavy charging cables difficult) that actually reached the back to the car. Just worked. 150 kW of charging speed delivering 511 mlles of range per hour. Just worked. Marvellous.
Through the tireless work of the charging infrastructure community, the early mainstream will, happily, know nothing of the travails of the early adopters. Happily, we were the reckless dreamer guinea pigs pathfinding the way to the nirvana-like state of a fast charge nation, powered by green, renewable energy electrons. With such good infrastructure actually out there, do we really need 300 mile-plus EVs when the charging experience is this good? Perhaps the OEMs should use those battery capacity cost savings to deliver the sub-£20k (ideally sub-£15k) cars mainstream, non-car consumers, need, to get on board with an EV journey of their own.
