We are in 2023 and we are crying out for a revolutionary change for electric car chargers: a POS

If he electric car wants to succeed it needs many things but, mainly, we can summarize it in two pillars: lowering its prices and improving the charging experience. The first thing seems complicated in the short term and the industry has been warning for some time that we may have experienced growth for which there is no going back.

From the loading experience we could say many things and, in Spain, few good things, really. It is a fact that the network is poorly distributed and that some regions show significant deficiencies when it comes to supporting travelers. (both on the highway and in the city).

But that is not what I have come to talk about on this occasion. This article is about the charging experience and how necessary it is to attract as many people as possible to electric cars.

“I arrive and fill the tank, five minutes”

It is one of the usual phrases that I hear when I explain to someone what I do, what topics I deal with in Xataka and why the electric car has a great future ahead of it.

And the truth is that, for now, the electric car can’t compete with the combustion vehicle as far as the recharging experience (filling the tank, in a gasoline or diesel) is concerned. Because yes, we can argue that while the car is charging, we are eating, having a coffee or simply stretching our legs (many times with that short stop it is enough to continue on the road). But it’s not just that.

With the battle of time lost, charging a car should be as simple as plugging the vehicle into the charging point, unlocking it, paying and leaving. Come on, what we would do at any gas station. That is why Tesla is the one that offers the best charging experience in its own chargers: arrive, plug in and know that the cost of the service will be automatically transferred to the bank account associated with our car.

Understanding that this is not possible (and leaving aside everything that can go wrong if we don’t plan our trip to a minimum), since the vast majority of vehicles charge at charging points that are not owned by their brand. Assuming this, I only have a message to send.

We want a POS!

We are in 2023 and it seems to me little less than surreal that the driver of an electric car should have to ask for this. Few news have made me happier in recent months than these: Zunder is incorporating POS to your fast and ultra-fast charging stations and the decathlon boots will accept card payment.

Right now I have installed on my mobile phone the applications for Electromaps (essential), Zunder (for a short time, it seems), Endesa, Tesla, Ionity, Wenea and Iberdrola. To charge the car I was driving at that time, I had to register on up to six different platforms, fill in the credit card details, wait for validation (in some it took nearly half an hour to grant me access), browse the application (there are some that are not the most intuitive) and, finally, plug in the car.

Marques Brownlee explained well how frustrating recharging an electric car can be on his channel auto focus. In this video points out how important it is to simplify the recharging of an electric car for those who are unfamiliar with this technology. He talks about a lady who has a compatibility problem with the chargers with her Tesla (we don’t have that problem in Spain), but also with the payment or availability of them.

Leaving aside the availability of the chargers and their good condition, it is urgent that the service of payment by card or contactless to charging points. And neither that the suppliers take advantage of this circumstance to make August. If I can fill up my car’s tank and pay with a card at a gas station (even without operators), why can’t I do it in an electric car?

Zunder has taken an important step in this regard and the extra cost will be five cents higher than the usual rate. Iberdrola has also begun to provide this service at some 250 kW charging points. The fine print? The cost (in October 2022) using the application was 0.55 euros/kWh, with card the rate reached 0.89 euros/kWh. An increase of 34 cents per kWh demanded. Up to 17 euros more in a recharge of 50 kWh, compared to the use of the application.

At the moment, the closest thing we can use is a rfid cardwhich we link to an account, but which not compatible with all companies. Electromaps has its own keychain for 15 euros and can be quite useful when we have poor coverage and have trouble accessing the relevant application.

Is charging an electric car comparable to filling a combustion tank? By charging points/gas stations, no. For times, neither. The use of a simple POS should not be another inconvenience to add to the list. At least the European Union wants this to change.