No more charging: will discounters soon be asking electric car drivers to pay?

Created: 05/19/2022, 12:01 p.m

By: Jan-Frederik Wendt

Charging an electric car at Aldi: will the discounter ask drivers to checkout soon?

(symbol photo) © Carsten Koall/dpa

Drivers can charge their electric cars with electricity free of charge at some supermarket parking lots.

A discounter could soon do away with this service.

Kassel – Due to the ongoing conflict in Ukraine, petrol prices in Germany are at a record high.

The federal government has therefore decided on a relief package.

It stipulates that motorists will probably be able to look forward to a tank discount from June.

Experts are expecting a “historic” rush to petrol stations in Germany on June 1 and are warning of empty petrol stations.

Of course, electric car drivers are not affected by the high petrol and diesel prices.

They can charge their vehicles at home, in public places and in discounter parking lots.

The offer is often free.

Recently, some companies have ended their free charging offer for electric car drivers - and a discounter could soon join the ranks.

Aldi wants to end free service for electric car drivers

Aldi Süd is considered a pioneer of free charging offers in parking lots.

The company has been letting its customers charge their electric cars for free since 2015.

That could end this summer.

Photos are currently circulating on social media that indicate the end of free electricity use.

This is reported by efahrer.com.

On some charging station displays, Aldi is informing its customers that the use of the charging stations will be subject to a charge from June 2022.

In the future, charging should cost 39 cents per kilowatt hour (kWh) charged.

Good news for the future: Researchers have developed a new type of battery with a fast charging time.

Aldi would offer electric car drivers a cheap charging offer

With a price of 39 cents per kWh charged, Aldi would continue to offer electric car drivers a comparatively cheap charging offer.

For comparison: With Tesla's superchargers, drivers pay 56 to 58 cents per kWh after a recent price increase, writes efahrer.com.

The price range for other providers starts at 45 cents for slower AC charging.

For example, if you are an EnBW customer and want to use the Ionity fast chargers, you have to pay 79 cents per kWh. 

Apparently, Aldi will allow payment by debit and credit card - a service that is not available from other charging providers.

So far, Aldi Süd has not officially commented on the subject.

(Jan-Frederik Wendt)