Charging across Europe

[BeardedZs]

Thanks so much for all this info, really interesting. We are ex-dirty diesel campervan drivers who swapped our van for an eV. We are planning to drive down to southern France next year;
what would you recommend as being the best card, rfids, apps to take?
Thanks again.

 

[OriginalBigAl]

I understand what you mean about the fixed slot.
My regular race from midway between Toulouse and Limoges (my brothers place) for a fixed ferry time was a slog, no fun stops for a pleasant lunch. Abandoned using Calais which was soul destroying and switched to Cherbourg or Caen as cost dictated at booking time.

That was in an ICE of course, he has since returned to the UK so no cheap holidays there any more

From Brive we always use Dieppe/Newhaven 7-8 hrs drive , around 15 euros in tolls , cheaper tariffs on the ferry and if you book on the phone and are over 60 ,10% discount, both ports are quiet and easy accessed. Downside, if you miss the boat its a long wait for the next one.

 

[EVsince2016]

Thanks so much for all this info, really interesting. We are ex-dirty diesel campervan drivers who swapped our van for an eV. We are planning to drive down to southern France next year;
what would you recommend as being the best card, rfids, apps to take?
Thanks again.

I use Chargemap in France to find chargers & as a backup as it gives the most useful information, however, I use an Electroverse RFID from Octopus to actually charge as it is cheaper.

Occasionally you come across a Shell unit requiring their app / RFID card.

 

[BeardedZs]

Thanks again, really useful stuff. In the past I've driven all over Europe and a few Greek islands but mainly in a camper. This gives me the confidence to use the ZS.

 

[EVsince2016]

Thanks again, really useful stuff. In the past I've driven all over Europe and a few Greek islands but mainly in a camper. This gives me the confidence to use the ZS.

France is actually easier than the UK, cheaper and has 20x better food at their services!

 

[slmorgan42]

France is actually easier than the UK, cheaper and has 20x better food at their services!

Totally agree. I do many trips a year to visit family and it is always a seamless process and cheap. 0.25euro per kw even on rapid chargers.
Lidl of all places is my go to.

 

[Gomev]

I use Chargemap in France to find chargers & as a backup as it gives the most useful information, however, I use an Electroverse RFID from Octopus to actually charge as it is cheaper.

Occasionally you come across a Shell unit requiring their app / RFID card.

Doesn't Electroverse work with Shell as well ?

 

[EVsince2016]

Doesn't Electroverse work with Shell as well ?

It's patchy. Some shell do accept Electroverse / Chargemap / Electromaps but many do not. The one I used south of Bordeaux did not, just the Shell app / card.

 

[BeardedZs]

Looking at the Electroverse app is an eye opener! French charge points are so much cheaper than here.

 

[EVsince2016]

Looking at the Electroverse app is an eye opener! French charge points are so much cheaper than here.

Try looking at Zunder in Spain. You'll see my direct rates up thread

 

[Derek25]

Brexit benefits lol,

Try looking at Zunder in Spain. You'll see my direct rates up thread

I’d love to agree with you but it’s more to do with the make-up of French electricity, how the energy system is owned and run and how the French government has subsidised electricity costs since the invasion of Ukraine.

 

[Roldorf]

I don't know about the rest of Europe but here in Germany it's only 1.70 euro / litre.

 

[Rolfe]

A rather ill-tempered exchange about Brexit has been deleted as a derail.

This thread is an excellent resource for members considering or planning a trip to the continent in their cars, and the last thing it needs is to be cluttered up with political arguments. If you want to continue this argument, please start another thread for it, and name it clearly so that the rest of us can avoid it like the plague.

Please take this as fair warning that any mention of Brexit in this thread from now on WILL attract infraction points.

 

[EVsince2016]

Thank you @Rolfe

For anyone considering trips across Europe then my inspiration was Glyn Hudson. A very kind & practical man who explains the chargers well and gave me the initially advice I needed to get started. He has just come back from diving his 38kw Nissan camper from Greece!

https://www.youtube.com/@GlynHudson/videos

There are many others, but none explain charging well and focus on other areas of travel & their cars.

 

[rjhfandclf]

I have a Via Verde tag so not to worry about the toll payments.

I've only just picked up on this interesting thread - the more so your comment about the Via tag. I have been using a French tag for years but have only just got my first EV - a late 2023 new model MG4 ER.

I'm a bit suspicious of the car's windscreen having a slight athermic-like tinge (but no other ID to that effect) that would affect the tag - as there is also no usual blackened area of clear screen to mount the tag on. I've been trying to ascertain this question from this forum and also MG - my dealer (total silence), and even from China via a very helpful Miles Roberts (but also nothing so far - although he did say it might take some weeks!)

I wonder what year/version your MG5 is, and whether there might be any similarity in windscreens?

 

[EVsince2016]

I've only just picked up on this interesting thread - the more so your comment about the Via tag. I have been using a French tag for years but have only just got my first EV - a late 2023 new model MG4 ER.

I'm a bit suspicious of the car's windscreen having a slight athermic-like tinge (but no other ID to that effect) that would affect the tag - as there is also no usual blackened area of clear screen to mount the tag on. I've been trying to ascertain this question from this forum and also MG - my dealer (total silence), and even from China via a very helpful Miles Roberts (but also nothing so far - although he did say it might take some weeks!)

I wonder what year/version your MG5 is, and whether there might be any similarity in windscreens?

Motorway tags shouldn't be an issue. I passed MG4s in Europe with tags. Online notes that a radio wave shouldn't be affected by a car windscreen, say if your mobile works etc.

"Most current AVI systems rely on radio-frequency identification, where an antenna at the toll gate communicates with a transponder on the vehicle via Dedicated Short Range Communications (DSRC). RFID tags have proved to have excellent accuracy, and can be read at highway speeds."

 

[rjhfandclf]

I passed MG4s in Europe with tags

Thanks. It was the large number of MG4s we keep seeing in France that stimulated my interest in modern MG EVs. I suppose my main concern is that the newer UK 4 ERs have a slightly different spec to the EU (most annoyingly, the downgrade to a 7kWh o/b charger that renders the plethora of valuable French small town 22 kWh AC chargers all but useless).

This is why I was seeking MG assurance on this query, or real-life experience of a similar owner/windscreen. Emovis (Sanef) tag states categorically that they don't work through athermic glass, and can only suggest that the tag should be held out of the window ... very helpful - particularly if dropped!

The best assurance I have so far is via Miles Roberts, whose MG contact said he was 'pretty sure the MG4 doesn’t have an athermic screen as all the GPS and GSM antennas for the navigation and E-Call are mounted under the facia and would not work correctly if it had'. I've also tried mobile bluetooth either side of the screen - which works, but I've also been told that is not a cast-iron test.

Why can't MG UK tell me what type of windsceen is fitted to their cars?

 

[EVsince2016]

Thanks. It was the large number of MG4s we keep seeing in France that stimulated my interest in modern MG EVs. I suppose my main concern is that the newer UK 4 ERs have a slightly different spec to the EU (most annoyingly, the downgrade to a 7kWh o/b charger that renders the plethora of valuable French small town 22 kWh AC chargers all but useless).

This is why I was seeking MG assurance on this query, or real-life experience of a similar owner/windscreen. Emovis (Sanef) tag states categorically that they don't work through athermic glass, and can only suggest that the tag should be held out of the window ... very helpful - particularly if dropped!

The best assurance I have so far is via Miles Roberts, whose MG contact said he was 'pretty sure the MG4 doesn’t have an athermic screen as all the GPS and GSM antennas for the navigation and E-Call are mounted under the facia and would not work correctly if it had'. I've also tried mobile bluetooth either side of the screen - which works, but I've also been told that is not a cast-iron test.

Why can't MG UK tell me what type of windsceen is fitted to their cars?

It does say on those tags put near rear view mirror, maybe this is why.

"An athermic windscreen is made of laminated glass with small metal particles. Athermic glass has the effect it has because these particles reflect a large part of the sun’s radiation.



The disadvantage of athermic glass is that it makes it harder for infrared rays and GPS signals to pass through due to the silver and titanium particles in the laminated glass. Therefore, an athermic windscreen always has an area of normal glass around the rear-view mirror, which allows signals and rays to pass through."

 

[rjhfandclf]

It does say on those tags put near rear view mirror, maybe this is why.

"... an athermic windscreen always has an area of normal glass around the rear-view mirror ..."

I do understand fully your reasoning - and indeed how athermic glass works - but forgive me for being a trifle more cautious in wishing to ask MG for a simple assurance that "always" applies equally to their windscreens (since they do have a black surround to them, plus a nominal mottled edge, but hidden behind the screen surrounds).

 

[EVsince2016]

"... an athermic windscreen always has an area of normal glass around the rear-view mirror ..."

I do understand fully your reasoning - and indeed how athermic glass works - but forgive me for being a trifle more cautious in wishing to ask MG for a simple assurance that "always" applies equally to their windscreens (since they do have a black surround to them, plus a nominal mottled edge, but hidden behind the screen surrounds).

My MG5 from 2021 is fine, no idea on the MG4 though. Maybe a seperate thread to ask if anyone has a toll tag for the M6 toll or Dartford.