Luckypants

I've installed the Tesla app. for a look see. The app is neat and works just fine. The map shows me just the chargers I can use as a non-Tesla driver. The price is pretty steep, but it is a safety net after all. Making them expensive will deter the casual user and get those who want to charge then go lining up. I expect that more sites will be added after a month or two like they have in Norway and France. On a personal level, they have opened almost all the Welsh sites so that is a win.

Quite a major, but much anticipated announcement today, covering many charging hubs. Tesla is opening up the UK SuperCharging network to non-Tesla vehicles. https://www.electrifying.com/blog/article/it-s-official-tesla-opens-up-uk-supercharger-network-to-non-tesla-drivers EDIT: Link to TESLA map showing SCs open to all (15 Sites) https://www.tesla.com/en_gb/findus?v=2&bounds=60.60630786089475%2C18.903900211843165%2C48.26553927505605%2C-23.283599788156835&zoom=6&filters=party&search=Wakefield%2C UK

Officially open it seems. https://transportandenergy.com/2022/05/17/scotlands-largest-ultra-rapid-charging-station-opens-in-hamilton/

As @roottoot would like road tests with vehicle loaded, Bjorn Nyland has obliged.

Here are South Mimms chargers on Plugshare https://www.plugshare.com/location/350611 Their website https://www.applegreenelectric.com/ Plugshare entry suggests 49p/kWh

So some more rapid charging hubs I heard have opened this week. 12 x 350kW Gridserve chargers at Thurrock services opened today, both older 60kW units remain. Applegreen (new to market) have a 6 x 150kW charger hub at South Mimms which opened this week.

Gridserve has also just announced a price increase.... Standalone Low Power AC Chargers : 39p/kWh Electric Forecourts® : 45p/kWh Medium Power Chargers : 48p/kWh High Power Chargers : 50p/kWh https://www.gridserve.com/2022/05/02/gridserve-electric-highway-pricing-update/?LeadSourceCode=crm1017 I guess everyone else won't be far behind now

I think most companies are going down the hub route now. (see the other thread about new hubs) Osprey are doing them, Gridserve (obvs) and Instavolt - MfG EV Power have adopted the filling station model it seems . Most recently Instavolt have expanded their Banbury hub and are about to open an 8 charger hub near me on the A5 in Corwen. Sure they are putting in single / double chargers some places as quick fixes as these often do not need new infrastructure from the DNO, but in general multi-charger sites are the new normal. 57p/kWh is steep and would put my fuel cost on the ID.4 about the same as my diesel costs would be in my previous Karoq 2.0TDi (based on £1.75/l). That's more than I want to be paying, so Instavolt will be near the bottom of the list of chargers to go to.

Is it madness? Who is driving the uptake in EVs right now? In my experience its mainly company car drivers who like the BIK rates. Private buyers are much fewer. If the majority of drivers are company car drivers, they are the ones on the road needing rapid charges and they won't care about the price as the company is paying. They may have worked out they can cash in on perceived high energy costs with the company car market. We don't know the reason they've increased prices, but they will have factored in the possibility of losing sales over price.

Instavolt announced another price increase yesterday. 57p/kWh from 4th May! https://instavolt.co.uk/instavolt-price-statement/

I thought they all got a rev counter on the standard dash? A small clock on bottom left of dash? What model did you buy? PID does display a temp. gauge if you want it to.

A preview of the new VW MEB software shipping "soon" to existing models. For those that don't know, VW have announced a service campaign to replace the 12V battery with an improved one, upgrade firmware in several hardware modules to make the software updateable over the air (OTA) and install software version 2.4 into the cars. After this, software version 3.0 will arrive via an OTA later in the year.

Gridserve have opened their second Electric Forecourt charging station today in Norwich. 22 HPC chargers, 8 Tesla SC and a dozen A/C charge posts. https://www.gridserve.com/2022/04/21/gridserve-opens-new-electric-forecourt-in-norwich-transforming-ev-charging-in-the-area/?LeadSourceCode=crm1017

WattsUp is a useful route planner as it shows chargers along your route. A Better Route Planner (aka ABRP) is helpful and accurately predicts your car's range if you update the settings correctly.

They are Tebay services only? I don't think two Ecotricity (now Gridserve) chargers on the North bound side count as a hub. The 6 Tesla superchargers on the southbound side would count if open to all.

The Rhug Estate and Instavolt have announced an 8 charger hub on the A5 / A494 near Corwen. Groundwork and signage in place, just need the chargers. Apparently be done 'for the end of the easter holidays' https://rhug.co.uk/all-news/rhug-estate-set-to-become-largest-private-provider-of-rapid-electric-vehicle-charging-points-in-wales

So another journo deliberately not finding out how to operate an electric car before making a report on it? I didn't watch as I forgot about it.

Given that C5 were casting around on twitter for people with bad experiences of charging, I expect a hatchet job.

So you are complaining about a very specific case, when everyone else is speaking in general terms. 👍

Fed up or not, destination chargers are designed for cars to be parked up CHARGING for hours. It may be a PITA to you, but they are not doing anything wrong. There is no reason why anyone shouldn't use a Type 2 charger if it is appropriate. Especially if by doing so they are not blocking a rapid charger.

Disagree. Destination chargers are ones where you are at 'your destination' and your car will be parked up for several hours (work, hotels, restaurants, retail parks, theme parks, the zoo, cinemas etc) while charging. If you plug in to 50kW your car will be charged in an hour and the rest of the time would be blocking a valuable resource. 22kW for a destination charge is great, it adds 40 miles an hour to my car (11kW max AC) so adds really useful amounts of range over several hours. If you are at a destination for an hour or so, then a rapid charge may be appropriate, but only if you NEED the charge to get to your next destination, in which case on route charging via rapids is equally effective. For EV drivers, the concept of 'grazing' charge is well known. Getting a bit here and a bit there while doing other things. A big single charge is thinking like an ICE driver. By grazing for charge when you can, it makes the 'need' to charge much smaller. It also means that if no charger is available, you are not stuck. For instance last weekend I was able to do 200 miles over the weekend on free electric by grazing small charges while doing other things. (supermarket shopping, lunch, shopping for lighting). The fact it was free is irrelevant, its that I got 200 miles of range without trying while doing other activities.

Also remember these chargers are for motorway journeys. Like many ICE drivers, EV drivers may choose to charge off the motorway before or after using the motorway. The likes of Osprey, MfG EV-Power and Instavolt are putting in chargers left and right on trunk roads. Instavolt installed 65 new 50+kW chargers in March alone. Even Shell are starting to get in on the act with it's forecourt in London and new charger locations. If they ever power up the hub at Northop, they will double the number of chargers on the A55. Gridserve announced a partnership with Dobbies garden centres to install hubs at their locations which are meant to be high speed - but I'll believe that when they arrive - a bank of 22kW chargers is not high speed. These are meant to be rolled out this year.... https://www.gridserve.com/2021/12/20/dobbies-garden-centres-rolls-out-ev-charging-with-gridserve/?LeadSourceCode=crm1017

The next services along at Cullompton has an Ionity Hub 4x350kW chargers and one Gridserve 50kW. You may see EV distribution being different to traditional ICE cars, they are going to go where there are chargers.

MFG already have some hubs handy for the motorway around Bristol. Image below filtered for MFG EV-Power and 100+ CCS chargers. Instavolt are installing something down there (I forget where) and Gridserve are currently building a hub at Cornwall Services. Gridserve's stated aim is to have a hub at all MSA, but of course that will take time. In the meanwhile I guess they will be building out where there is power available and busy MSA first. Exeter will not be the only hub for the West country.

Really no excuse for that with a Tesla, the app tells you your car is charged with a little alarm. Did you go round the shop and have a word or ring Faith to come move her car?