Is it worth getting an electric car if you don’t have a home charging point?

David, what made you switch to an electric car?

David: I’ve actually always been a fan of new technologies and technological revolutions. Electric mobility has also fascinated me for a long time. And when we needed a new car in autumn 2020, it was clear to us that it was going to be an electric car.

And which model did you choose? Since we have a dog and were expecting a new addition to the family at the time, I was looking for something in the SUV range with attractive performance. We decided relatively quickly on the Audi e-tron 50. At the time, there wasn’t so much choice anyway. Another reason behind this decision was the fairly consistently high charging power of the e-tron of around 125 kilowatts. Because we didn’t have a wallbox at home, I needed a car that could charge quickly at public fast charging stations.

Why don’t you have a charging facility at home?

We live in a rental building in the middle of the city of Zurich with five garage spaces in the basement. Our proposal to install a wallbox at our own expense was rejected by the owner because they want a comprehensive solution for all tenants and currently don’t see any added value in the creation of charging facilities. The larger investment only makes sense for the owner if other tenants are also interested in a charging solution. And that is not the case so far.

Were you not worried about not having a charging facility at home?

For many people, the lack of a home charging point is one of the main reasons against getting an electric car. I did, of course, think carefully before buying about whether this could work and concluded that my mobility behaviour and the available public charging infrastructure could be compatible. However, my curiosity about electric mobility and a bit of experimentation definitely helped.

What is your mobility behaviour like?

As a photographer, I travel a lot by car for work (www.davidbiedert.com). Sometimes I have to go to St. Moritz one day and Geneva the next. Most of the time, however, I travel rather short distances, except during the holidays, when a trip from Zurich to the south of France is also possible. I cover perhaps around 25,000 kilometres a year.

Which charging strategy has worked the best?

My Audi e-tron 50 has a range of around 300 kilometres. In winter it is around 250 kilometres. That gets me quite a long way. But when you’re running on electric, you have to think more about how to get from A to B and then back again. Having said that, the public fast charging network is already so well developed that there are hardly any large sections left without fast chargers.

Charging on a fast charger takes around 20 minutes. In addition, there are also publicly accessible AC charging stations in many places. If I’m in one place for more than a couple of hours, it’s also worth plugging into those. But there are times when I need to take longer because of the external charging. Especially when I’m on the way home, I always have to make sure that I don’t arrive empty. I try to use the charging time sensibly, for example to edit pictures or send emails.

And how do you find the right charging station?

I often search for the stations via the swisscharge.ch app, where I can also see whether the station is occupied and can choose accordingly. The Audi navigation app also works quite well for route planning and charging stops. Of course, it always comes down to having to consider the best option for you.

What has been your worst charging experience so far?

Overall, I haven’t had any problems with charging, not even with faulty devices or anything like that. But once I almost did get stuck with an empty battery. Because both charging points at the fast charging station I had selected were occupied, I had to go to another station with a very low battery. The navigation system then took me over a bridge that was closed, so I eventually had to charge in some random town using a household socket. I needed half an hour to get myself a few kilometres of range and then spent another two hours at the next AC charger. With this huge loss of time, I think it would have been better to wait a short time until a charging space was available.

How do things balance out after more than three years of having an electric car without a home charging point?

I would do it again without hesitation, even if not being able to charge at home means having to rethink things. Personally, I still enjoy planning and organising before heading out. But you do need to have a certain willingness to make an additional loop. You should also bear in mind that when charging away from home, the charging costs are usually slightly higher than charging at home and are therefore comparable with fossil fuels. Still, I would never go back to a combustion engine. And with the great selection of electric cars available nowadays and the constant technological progress, sooner or later you won’t be able to get around having an electric car anyway.

About the Person David has been working as a professional events photographer for over 20 years and works for Swiss Illustrierte, among other publications. He has travelled fully electrically for work and private purposes since 2019 and has never regretted making the switch. Every now and then he also includes a GOFAST charging station in his photos. www.davidbiedert.com