Charging electric cars in the USA: Often much cheaper than in Germany

Created: 11/29/2022, 06:00

By: Sebastian Oppenheimer

In the USA, electric cars can often be charged much more cheaply than in Germany.

Away from the coastal regions and large metropolises, however, you first have to find a charging station.

If you visit one of the large shopping centers in the Los Angeles or San Diego area at the weekend, you don't have to let your eyes wander for long before you spot the logos of providers such as EV Go or Electrify America.

Aha, that's where the charging stations for electric cars are.

If the situation in front of the mostly six to twelve charging stations a week is comparatively relaxed, it usually looks a little different when it comes to bulk shopping at the weekend.

At peak times in the late morning or early afternoon, it can sometimes take a while before you can refuel your own electric car with the charging station.

Charging electric cars in the USA: Often much cheaper than in Germany

Audi E-Tron, Tesla Model Y (which recently failed in an "autopilot" test) or even a Porsche Taycan - the columns are usually well attended on Saturdays and Sundays.

And in the evening hours you sometimes have to wait half an hour for high-voltage electricity at a shopping mall like Wilshire Boulevard near Beverly Hills.

There is also a solid charging network on the highways parallel to the large connecting routes from San Diego to Los Angeles, inland towards San Bernardino or even Las Vegas.

You can hardly complain about the loading speeds either.

150 kW is always possible - with many charging stations, especially from Electrify America, 300 or even 350 kW are increasingly shining, which provide a powerful charging boost.

The faster an e-car charges, the lower the charging losses.

Charging electric cars in the USA: A Tesla is the easiest way to do things on connecting routes

Outside of California, however, there is a different picture in many states.

The coastal regions and also metropolises in Texas, Nevada, Georgia or in the car state of Michigan offer a supply situation with which it is easy to get through the electric rounds.

After all, most users also charge at home or at work.

The easiest way to get around the connecting routes is usually with a Tesla, because the network of superchargers is just as impressive as the number of individual charging stations where Model 3, Y, X and S are strengthened for the tasks ahead.

Tesla customers can now even vote online for new supercharger locations.

Charging electric cars in the USA: Electrify America is one of the largest independent providers

One of the largest independent charging networks in the USA is offered by Electrify America, in which a number of car manufacturers are involved.

There are currently more than 3,400 fast chargers at almost 800 stations across the country.

In the coming weeks, around 90 charging stations are to be added by the start of 2023.

As in Europe, the CCS charging plugs are particularly common, but many charging stations also have the less common Chademo plugs.

The conditions are usually much cheaper than in Europe and especially Germany.

Especially in the morning hours, electric vehicles can be refueled at many hyperchargers and 300 kW at a low price of 0.30 dollars per kWh - Tesla wants to offer a similar economy model in Europe soon.

The price applies even

EV Go charging stations in the USA can be booked in advance.

© ZUMA Wire/Imago

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Charging electric cars in the USA: payment options are usually extremely flexible

Even during the day, many hyperchargers only charge $0.35 or $0.39 per kilowatt-hour of electricity.

In Europe, the same amount of electricity quickly costs 0.60 to 0.80 euros – more than twice as much.

As with us, you can pay by app or charging card.

Then it is sometimes even cheaper, because some manufacturers sell their electric cars with one to two years of charging current included.

And the normal prices at the fast charging station are often paid by Apple Pay, Google Pay or simply a credit card – it hardly gets any more flexible than in the USA and especially in states like California. 

Charging electric cars in the USA: Big differences between the states

The prices at the charging stations do not only differ according to whether a contract exists or not, because the individual states sometimes have huge differences.

For example, if a kilowatt hour in states such as New York, Florida or California without a framework contract with Electrify America costs $0.43 during the day, in some states it is billed per minute alone.

Up to a speed of 90 kW it is 0.16 dollars per minute - up to 350 kW then 0.32 dollars per time unit.

For the savings tariffs, only a basic fee of four dollars per month has to be paid, which pays off with two top-ups. 

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Charging electric cars in the USA: EV Go charging stations can be booked in advance

EV Go provider proudly announces that around 140 million Americans live within ten miles of an EV Go charger.

In total, EV Go offers 850 fast charging stations in 60 metropolitan areas.

At between $0.22 and $0.34, the prices per kilowatt hour are also well below European rates.

Particularly practical: individual charging stations can be booked in advance so that they are not occupied by other electric car users when you arrive.

“EV Go is committed to the Electric For All goal and the availability of public fast charging stations is key to making this a reality for all EV drivers, but especially rideshare drivers,” said Jonathan Levy, Chief Commercial Officer at EVgo.

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Charging electric cars in the USA: The situation is often problematic away from the metropolises and coastal regions

This should not hide the fact that, despite extensive efforts, it can sometimes be difficult away from the coastal regions and especially the large metropolises.

For example, if you are traveling on Route 66 or want to cross the US on the Lincoln Highway from San Francisco to New York with a distance of more than 5,000 kilometers in an electric vehicle, you should think about your stopovers beforehand.

Even on the classic tourist routes, it is sometimes difficult with an electric car.

This is not only due to the manageable number of chargers per se, but especially to the lack of fast chargers, because if a charging station near a bank building or café invites you to linger, then the speed is often a snail charger,

which empowers its own battery pack in the underbody of the electric model with little more than seven or a maximum of 22 kilowatts.

Then a coffee stop with a sandwich break quickly turns into an overnight stay in the nearest hotel.