Free charging of e-cars must end

It could have been so nice, but the good nature of the companies is just shamelessly exploited. Free charging of the e-car at Aldi, Lidl, Ikea and Co. must finally be stopped – at least in the current form.

Aldi, Lidl and Ikea want to do something good for customers

It’s hard to believe, but Aldi Süd has been offering its customers the option of charging their e-car for free while shopping for six years. Lidl, Ikea and other retailers have taken this concept as a model and have also been offering charging stations at new branches for some time. While there haven’t been any major issues with strategy and uncontrolled access in the past few years, that’s changing now. The number of vehicles has increased significantly thanks to the bonuses when buying e-cars and new, really good electric cars. At the same time that too Interest in free charging stationsthat are at discounters and other stores. And that is exactly where the problem arises.

The current Schnorrer in the Tesla Model S.

Dealers who install an e-car charging station and provide access free of charge want to give their customers the opportunity to easily charge their e-car while shopping. This generosity has been shamelessly exploited for some time.

In our city with around 80,000 inhabitants, the first free charging station with 50 kW was installed on the new Lidl a few months ago. Every time I go shopping there after work or just drive by, I see this one red Tesla Model S standing there. Instead of going shopping at Lidl, the driver sits comfortably in the vehicle, the seat nicely set back and plays on the mobile phone. Once I had to spend a little longer there and was able to watch the driver arrive, load exactly one hour, what is maximally possible at Lidl and then just drive away. An Audi E-Tron driver arrived, saw the situation and then stood in a normal parking lot while he was shopping at Lidl. This is definitely not the way to go.

While the number of e-cars is still manageable in our relatively small city, this is a big problem in large cities. E-car drivers, primarily those with a Tesla, even talk to each other in WhatsApp groups in order to ensure a seamless transition at free charging stations and not have to wait – reported t3n.

Free e-car charging will therefore come to an end

The situation at the charging stations will become a problem over time, as it is more and more e-cars are. The number of registrations is increasing significantly, as the premium is very attractive at a total of 9,000 euros. However, taking advantage of the free offers will ensure that the options are discontinued. Lidl has already started to introduce the eCharge app. Ikea has that Speed ​​reducedwith which customers can load. Sure, you spend a long time at Ikea when you go shopping. Aldi will also follow as soon as a company pulls the rip cord and ties charging the e-car to shopping in the store.

That is exactly what I would welcome. I want to buy an electric car in the foreseeable future. The Kia EV6 that I recently tested confirmed my decision once again.

Even Sony wants to build an electric car:

It will be interesting to see how the dealers solve the problem with the charging current scroungers. When you consider that you are at Lidl gets around 40-45 kW in one hour and which are currently worth over 15 euros, then the free charging is of course worthwhile for the e-car drivers. But the fact that the charging stations are blocked in this way and the benevolence of the dealers who promote e-mobility with the free charging stations is exploited is just cheeky. Free charging when shopping, but not without shopping. This is how it must and will be in the future.