How busy are the chargers? Do you have to wait ?

All Skoda Enyaq related discussions
Goaty
Posts: 1576
Joined: Sat May 22, 2021 3:27 pm

Post by Goaty »

Hi all,

To those who have already got their Enyaq’s (or other EV’s which have to use the non-Tesla network) - how easy has it been to find unoccupied chargers when you’ve needed them? Moreover have you had to wait for one to come available or have you generally always been able to find one you can jump on at service stations etc ?

If you’ve been driving EV’s for a while, have the charging stations been getting increasingly busy / congested in recent months?

I’m still driving a diesel but usually drive past EV chargers to ‘have a look’ and sometimes they’re empty but other times they appear full (all 8 stations in use for example).

Also have you noticed any tangible increase in the number of chargers being made available at locations you use regularly?

Thanks !
iV80 Loft, Black, 21” Betria, 125kW, Climate Plus, Asst Drive Basic. Tethered PodPoint. Ordered May 2021. Delivered Nov 2021. Regrettably returned Jan 2024 (Company car. Changed jobs).

rugbyant
Posts: 28
Joined: Fri Aug 13, 2021 1:26 pm

Post by rugbyant »

Hey Goaty,

I came from a company BMW 5, to the Enyaq. I have had for 3 months, gone to Lake District and Norfolk (live in West Yorks) in it.

So far I have not had to wait for charging points, but I tend to go to 100% for long trips at home on the 7kW, and then plan where to stop (with options) for journey. When we went to Lakes there were 4 fast chargers at supermarket and I got the last spot. Got some bits and lunch for family and came back, car topped back to 100%. Left spot, and taken straight away.

Around here there are also Engie chargers (50kW) that are free, i think, until end of Oct. So I also use them to top up. They have been times these are not available, but most of the people in the spots have said how long they have left, and I decide whether to stay or come back.

A colleague got the ID4 and he is in Scotland. He did say he struggled finding a working or non occupied charger when coming down M6.

I do think they will become increasingly busier, and hope the Shell program and Government role out will ease the situation when it happens.
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RichR
Posts: 1918
Joined: Thu Mar 11, 2021 11:53 am
Location: South end of North Yorkshire

Post by RichR »

I think for a while yet we'll need to be sensible and use tools such as ABRP, Zap-Map etc to plan a route when doing long journeys (ie further than you can go after charging at home), to identify likely places to stop, plus several alternatives in that area should the first choice charge location be busy or out of order rather than assume we can just rock up and charge.
Everyone will of course adopt their own charging strategy, but I prefer to stop often when driving (I drive to Cornwall and Scotland several times a year from North Yorkshire) after about 2 hours. So that means a 20 minute charge will give me more than enough to get to the next planned location, and if it's busy I have the option of waiting or carrying on to my next preferences, or using the apps to locate a nearby pub or supermarket that might be free but a few miles off my route.

In an ideal world there'll be more chargers than people need, but having carpark spaces with a charge point that aren't in use doesn't make economical sense for the companies operating them, as they're paying for that space whether there's a car in it or not. We'll probably reach some sort of equilibrium. There are a lot of companies wanting to put in charge points, it's just a matter of sorting out the planning and electricity supply arrangements that can slow things down.
Enyaq iV 80 Sportline, Energy Blue, Assisted Drive Plus, Infotainment Plus, Convenience Plus, Comfort Seat Plus, Transport Pack, Heat Pump, ME3.2, Built Nov 2021.
Drumingtopbanana
Posts: 26
Joined: Mon Jul 19, 2021 5:21 pm

Post by Drumingtopbanana »

Goaty wrote: Tue Aug 24, 2021 6:11 am Hi all,

To those who have already got their Enyaq’s (or other EV’s which have to use the non-Tesla network) - how easy has it been to find unoccupied chargers when you’ve needed them? Moreover have you had to wait for one to come available or have you generally always been able to find one you can jump on at service stations etc ?

If you’ve been driving EV’s for a while, have the charging stations been getting increasingly busy / congested in recent months?

I’m still driving a diesel but usually drive past EV chargers to ‘have a look’ and sometimes they’re empty but other times they appear full (all 8 stations in use for example).

Also have you noticed any tangible increase in the number of chargers being made available at locations you use regularly?

Thanks !
Hi

I have done over 4000 miles in my car and not had to wait to get on any public chargers.
The only issue this week was getting to them as those damn fossil fuel cars were blocking access to petrol stations which is where most of the chargers are.
I ended up taking a 15 minute detour and tried out the electric highway- grid serve at Braintree in Essex, I must say this is how all EV charging stations should be
Westy
Posts: 82
Joined: Wed Sep 29, 2021 4:02 pm

Post by Westy »

Had my first charger queue today, Ionity Chippenham (really decent set up), 2 minutes off the m5.

Just needed 10 minute top up to finish a journey, but all 4 chargers (think 2 more might be added) were in use and 3 cars waiting. Thankfully they turn round fast so queued for 15 minutes (nipped in shop for coffee) and then added 10 minutes at 130kw (its expensive at Ionity - but worth it if your in a hurry).

I had to help two nice EV newbies get started with charger, both had over 60% charge and just wanted to tryout the fast chargers :(

A new Sunday risk to add to Sunday drivers, Sunday chargers!

Great selection of EV’s there: Jags, E trons, Taycans, I3 - the Enyaq got some nods of approval from the other users. The E tron driver asked about range - she was a bit miffed to hear the enyaq was a 100+ better than her 70k Audi :)
Enyaq 80 Loft
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Replacing a Passat GTE Estate
Xtopher
Posts: 111
Joined: Wed Jul 21, 2021 4:07 pm

Post by Xtopher »

Westy wrote: Sun Oct 03, 2021 6:50 pm I had to help two nice EV newbies get started with charger, both had over 60% charge and just wanted to tryout the fast chargers :(

A new Sunday risk to add to Sunday drivers, Sunday chargers!
You'd hope they only do this once and learn its fine, but I suspect they wont!
Nick481
Posts: 9
Joined: Tue Sep 21, 2021 11:46 am

Post by Nick481 »

Just done a trip to Grasmere from Cheltenham in my petrol car - I’m still waiting- at the services I stopped at there were 2 chargers both in use. I then stopped at Booths in Windermere that had 4 ionity charges. They were all full. I then checked the 7kw at Grasmere car park. That was full. This was on a Wednesday. Not looking good if you need to do a long trip.
metalmadhammer
Posts: 228
Joined: Mon Sep 13, 2021 12:44 pm

Post by metalmadhammer »

Once you go off the beaten track it can be hard to find chargers. We struggled in Llandudno and some areas of Cornwall. The answer is to plan ahead and charge up before you go into such areas.

I've never had to wait more than 15 mins though.

They will need some form of ticketing system to ensure its fair as sometimes in busy car parks you can't wait near the charger. I've heard of one incident of charging rage but I myself have had plenty of very nice conversations with people at charging points.
Enyaq 80 Suite, Race Blue, Panoramic Sunroof, 20" Vega Alloys and a silly overpriced rubber mat for the boot.
Goaty
Posts: 1576
Joined: Sat May 22, 2021 3:27 pm

Post by Goaty »

M6 chargers at Stafford were clear at 7 am and again (on the opposite carriageway) at around 4 pm today (I had a look). They are likely to be the ones I’ll need to use regularly once I get my Enyaq.
iV80 Loft, Black, 21” Betria, 125kW, Climate Plus, Asst Drive Basic. Tethered PodPoint. Ordered May 2021. Delivered Nov 2021. Regrettably returned Jan 2024 (Company car. Changed jobs).
orrery
Posts: 375
Joined: Sat Oct 02, 2021 3:22 pm

Post by orrery »

The real problem is on motorway services. Ecotricity provided them back in the early days of EV and they were at best prototypes, and never properly maintained.

Gridserve have taken them over and are replacing them with newer chargers, but most service areas will still have 1 or 2 chargers which is nowhere near enough. It will take a while for this to be completed, then Gridserve will start to expand them to the 'electric forecourt' format with 8 or 12 chargers.

EV sales are now increasing by 7% per month - doubling each year. This isn't anything special when you are talking about 1% to 2%, but we are approaching 10% to 20% increase. We must be adding nearly the same number of EVs as have been sold previously, so the number of chargers required will now have to increase significantly. I don't think that the government has got this message.
iV80 Lounge, Heat Pump, 125kW charging, Tow bar
Previous EVs: Leaf 40 (x2), Leaf 30, Leaf 24. EVing since 2014.
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