Norway shock as rate hike pushes EV charging price higher than petrol

The Driven

A hike in electric car charging rates by European electric car fast charging network Ionity has drawn a backlash from the Norwegian electric car association Norsk Elbilforenig, which says the new rates make powering an electric vehicle more expensive than fuelling a similar petrol or diesel car.

On Friday Ionity, a joint venture between BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Ford and Volkswagen including Audi and Porsche, announced a new pricing structure that will see the previously fixed rate of 8 euros ($A12.90 converted) replaced on January 31, 2020 with a new price-per-kWh rate.

This fixed rate meant that owners of electric vehicles (EVs) with larger, long range batteries gained a pricing advantage over those owning EVs with smaller batteries, who paid more per kilowatt hour.

A study released in July 2019 and reported on by The Driven noted that in Norway, which leads the globe by market share in EV penetration with 56% of all cars sold in 2019 able to be plugged in, electric vehicle fast chargers were more commonly used by owners of long range electric vehicles with larger batteries.

Ionity’s new rate of 0.79 euros/kWh will see Norwegians pay around NOK7.80 (gross price in country-specific currency), which becomes NOK 8.40/kWh ($A1.37/kWh converted) after Ionity has added an additional fee.

This means long range electric vehicles could now cost NOK20 per mile ($A0.327/km converted) to drive when using Ionity’s network (many sites of which features 350kW Australian-designed Tritium Veefil-PK ultra-fast chargers) according to a statement issued by Norsk Elbilforenig.

To read the full story on RenewEconomy’s electric vehicle dedicated site, The Driven, click here…