Concentrating in front of the machine, Jean-Marie is a little annoyed. "The charge stopped before it was finished," said the resident of Magny-les-Hameaux. This is the first time this has happened. Luckily, the motorist still has a little time before his appointment at the end of the day. "Normally I receive an email when it's over, but this time I received it when it's barely been 1h30," the user reacts.
For the past two years, this retiree from the Buisson district has been driving a hybrid Jeep. "I was persuaded by my wife, I wasn't really in favour. Finally, if I had to take a car today, I would take the same one. For me, it's the future! His routine is well established now.
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"At the beginning we didn't really know where the charging stations were, and then there were also fewer of them, but fortunately it has developed, everyone installs them, even Lidl, and for the rest, there are applications that exist, it's very practical," says Jean-Marie, a regular user of the SQY start station on the Place du 19 mars 1962.
At €3.30 per charge for a range of 50 km, the 68-year-old from Yvelin refuels almost every day. "It's convenient because I live in one of the residences behind it," he says. Usually, I charge the car when I get home, so I'm close by in case something happens, and then I pick it up to take it back to the residence or to leave if I need to go somewhere."
An entry price of 0.20 cents per kWh
For the rest, it's child's play. After parking, the motorist takes out his subscriber card, or his bank card, he selects the location on the left or right because each charging station has two charging points. After opening the hatch, he plugs the cable into his vehicle, folds down the hatch and makes sure the load is in progress before leaving the premises. "It's simple," admits Jean-Marie, who would ideally like to have a charging station in his co-ownership. The only problem is when the parking lot is full, people park in the two reserved spaces and it gets painful. »
Magny-les-Hameaux, October 19. A surcharge of €0.25 per minute applies after 3 hours during the day to avoid sucker cars.
In terms of tariffs, a subscriber should count 0.30 cents per kWh during the day, from 8 a.m. to 22 p.m., or 0.20 cents per kWh at night, and 0.35 cents day and night for a non-subscriber. This applies to 22 kWh charging stations, which are currently the most common in the country, but 50 kWh express charging stations are also starting to emerge. They are more powerful and therefore also more expensive, so expect a subscriber to pay 0.60 cents per kWh during the day, from 8 a.m. to 22 p.m., or 0.40 cents per kWh at night, and 0.65 cents per kWh day and night for a non-subscriber.
After one year of service, the Start SQY charging stations are a "real success" for the Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines agglomeration. "We have 39 charging stations across the country, which is equivalent to 55 charging points," says Bertrand Coquard, Deputy Vice-President for Smart Cities, Energy and Public Lighting. Since the project's rollout in November 2022, usage has steadily increased from 3,191 sessions in the first quarter of 2023 to 5,500 sessions in the third quarter of 2023.
100 charging stations within two years
"There has been a 70% increase in usage, which is also largely due to the availability of credit card payment at all terminals," says the departmental councillor. And then the service improved. "Before, the bollards weren't necessarily very watertight, there were erosion problems which caused microbreakdowns, so it didn't always work," admits the elected representative of Clayes-sous-Bois. Today, the downtime rate is 5% while it is 18% nationally, which is huge. »
Another important point is the location. "There aren't really any rules in this area, but we can see that the ones placed near businesses work well. For example, we have one in Clayes-sous-Bois near a cultural space where there are also residences nearby," says Bertrand Coquard, who mentions "32,000 electric cars in the Yvelines in November 2022".
Today, the agglomeration of Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines is working to meet three objectives: the installation of at least two charging stations in each of the twelve municipalities, the deployment of 50 kWh express and 150 kWh boost stations, mainly intended for Tesla owners and businesses. Other reflections are also underway to attract users of scooters, scooters and other electric vehicles. "We have another goal: 100 charging stations within two years," smiles Bertrand Cocquard.