In mid-January, a small shock went through the growing scene of German Tesla drivers thanks to Model 3. Unlike the premium models Model S and Model X, the Model 3 cannot charge free of charge on the Tesla Supercharger network, which is why an introductory offer from Ionity came in handy: Until recently, any number of stores there was cheap at 8 euros – and even faster than at Tesla. But then Ionity announced that the price per kilowatt hour from February will be 79 cents per kilowatt hour, much more than before and more than at the Tesla stations.
Ionity is a joint venture between the car manufacturers BMW, Daimler, Ford and Volkswagen and has been building a network of charging stations with an output of up to 350 kilowatts across Europe since 2018; Hyundai’s announcement was announced in autumn 2019. The number of locations currently indicates Ionity with more than 200 in 20 countries, that of the charging stations with 860, all operated with renewable energy.
But with the end of the package, the Ionity network suddenly became expensive – mainly for Tesla drivers. Because the German car manufacturers do not yet offer many electric cars, but their drivers always have special conditions at Ionity. As a driver of an Audi, BMW, Daimler or Porsche, you pay between 0.29 euros and 0.33 euros per kilowatt hour (and for VW 8.40 euros flat rate), i.e. a maximum of as much as Tesla drivers on their superchargers in Germany.
The new #IONITY The ad hoc price does not apply to tariff customers of certain manufacturers:
Audi: 0.33 EUR / kWh
Porsche: 0.33 EUR / kWh
Daimler: EUR 0.29 / kWh
BMW: EUR 0.30 / minute
VW: 8.40 EUR / chargingAt BMW / VW we expect a change in February.
– emobly (@emobly) January 17, 2020
With the drastic price increase for everyone else, Ionity basically dropped out, except as an emergency option for all Tesla owners, which caused some annoyance. After all, the Supercharger network remains for Model 3 as well as Model S and Model X.
In addition: For Tesla drivers who want or need to charge a lot at Ionity, there is now again an offer that, at least with intensive use of Ionity, is significantly cheaper than the regular 79 cents per kilowatt hour. Anyone who pays a monthly flat rate of EUR 19.99 to the Plugsurfing charging network can purchase electricity from all partner operators for 0.34 cents per kilowatt hour – “This offer also applies to Ionity charging stations” is mentioned on the supply side.
That seems to be only slightly above the 0.33 euros in superchargers and for German electric cars at Ionity, but is only worthwhile for closer users if you take a closer look. A flat rate of just under 20 euros means that if there is a power requirement of, for example, 100 kilowatt hours per month, a 20 percent share of the flat rate is added to each, which amounts to a kWh price of 0.54 euros.
This is still less than without a subscription for 79 per kWh, but the 20 euros are also due in months in which no ionity electricity or very little is needed. And with Model 3 drivers, the more Tesla expands its Supercharger network, the more it will happen.
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