How IONITY's price bump for charging EVs in Europe is a slap in the face

This European high-powered charging network is growing rapidly and currently has more than 200 charging stations with more than 860 charging points across 20 countries. IONITY's new pricing is based on a price per kilowatt-hour rather than a unit price per recharge.

IONITY is a joint venture between the BMW Group, Mercedes-Benz, the Ford Motor Company and the Volkswagen Group. Now, some connected mobility service providers (guess which ones!) are offering contracts for discounts. These contracts are not compulsory, customers who do not subscribe to them will soon have to pay €0.79 per kWh, which considerably increases the cost of charging electric vehicles.

So far the rule has been simple: €8 per refill. That is the price if you charge today. No need to calculate the cost per kWh... But IONITY has chosen to change the rules of the game. After a few simple calculations here is the result. A full tank of 60 kWh should, therefore, cost €47.40, and a full tank of 100 kWh will cost you €79. The smallest battery size you can have in a Tesla Model 3 is 54 kWh, meaning it'll cost you €42.66 to fully charge it. As you can see, we are moving a long way away from the old €8 flat rate.

IONITY's co-founding brands get a discount

Please note that not all-electric vehicles are affected by this increase. Not surprisingly, the brands co-founding the project will benefit from preferential rates, provided that their Mercedes Charge, BMW ChargeNow, Volkswagen WeCharge, Porsche Charging Service or Audi e-tron Charging Service users have taken out a specific subscription. This subscription will allow you to benefit from a much lower cost per kWh, ranging from €0.30 to €0.35 per kWh.

Michael Hajesch, CEO of Ionity, said: "It has always been IONITY’s aim to build a uniform and coherent network to make seamless, high-speed, long-distance electric mobility across Europe a reality. Providing customers with unparalleled levels of service is key to our business." The decision to install 350 kW charging stations is undoubtedly the direct consequence of a new vision that is accompanied by higher rates.

Turning charging stations in profit pumps

What a pity that IONITY seems to think more about its financial interests than the collective interest. The company also appears to have chosen to benefit the customers of the major car brands that are members of the joint venture, and to essentially tax those who invest in competing brands with higher charging prices. This makes it much harder for non-German-owned manufacturers to compete in Europe. Did somebody just say... Tesla?

It would be a shame if such an increase in recharging prices were to hamper potential buyers of these vehicles of tomorrow. Today more than ever, we need to use clean vehicles to preserve the planet, while continuing to use vehicles that accompany us on our travels. In my opinion, the next objective would be to make them accessible to all with lower prices, and not the other way round.

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What do you think about electric cars and this price increase at the charging station? We look forward to hearing from you!