E-mobility: questions and answers for newbies and curious minds

First things first: this article is for those wanting to go all in. What I mean by that is we won’t be answering any questions you might have about buying a hybrid car. These supposed jack-of-all-trades vehicles with a high-horsepower combustion engine and a token electric motor are, at best, a temporary solution for the timid. They’re not good for the environment. A recent study by TCS (link in German) also revealed that hybrids typically have higher running costs than all-electric cars. And let’s not spend too much time talking about the carbon footprint here. Electric cars do have a higher initial environmental cost due to the manufacturing process of the battery. But these are offset after just 10,000 kilometres, beating out gasoline or diesel-powered cars.

Car manufacturers are also driving the trend toward electric mobility (translator’s note: please excuse the terrible pun). According to a report in the «NZZ am Sonntag» (link in German), around 300 new cars with purely electric motors will enter the market by the end of 2022.

Still reading? Then you certainly want to go all in. Welcome aboard. Let’s get started with the questions and answers. If you have any questions that are not answered below, leave them in the comments. Oh, and in case you’re wondering why we, the editorial team at Digitec Galaxus, are writing about electric cars, here’s the answer: you can buy them in our shop. You’ll find anything from the Volkswagen ID.3 to the Mercedes-Benz EQC along with all kinds of car accessories.

Now, onto the questions.

Can I go on vacation in an electric car?

Yes. But I do recommend you plan your route more precisely. The number of charging stations for electric cars is growing. In Switzerland, you’ll enjoy a very dense network of chargers. This guarantees a stress-free ride to Ticino, the Grison Alps or the Valais. However, as soon as you plan to leave the country’s borders behind you, battery range and charging options on the road are not to be ignored. There are now over 200,000 charging points in Europe. According to a report (link in German), the EU aims to have a charging station at least every 60 kilometres on highways and expressways in all member states by the year 2025.

That’s still a few years out, though. So, it’s a good idea to calculate a route that includes your charging stops before hitting the road. There are a number of websites and apps to help you with this. Some even provide real-time information and show you if a given charging point is currently free. One such high-rated app in the App Store is «A better routeplanner»; the Android version is available here.

Keep in mind that you may have to register beforehand to use foreign – and sometimes domestic – charging stations. But services like «Plugsurfing» now also exist, giving you access to charging stations from various providers with just one registration. Route planners for electric drivers typically allow you to filter charging stations by operator so you’re only shown charging points that work for you.

How far can an electric car really go?

Range is an important selling point for electric vehicles. As a rule of thumb, you can assume that more money equals higher range. To illustrate: at the lower end of the price spectrum, there’s the JAC e-S2. Based on WLTP, it has a range of 275 kilometres. In the mid-range, there’s the Mercedes EQC, which, also based on WLTP, has a range of 400 kilometres. At the high-end, there’s the Tesla Model S with an «EPA estimated range of 652 kilometres», i.e. not based on WLTP and with an accordingly higher price tag. By the way, the range is always a calculation that combines both «this is how quickly the battery drains» and «this is how much battery I regain thanks to recuperative braking». Every time you brake, your car’s battery recharges a little bit.

The abbreviation WLTP describes a global standard for determining range. In theory, the «Worldwide Harmonised Light Vehicles Test Procedure» mimics realistic driving behaviour as closely as possible.

Close to reality as the WLTP may be, it’s no guarantee that your VW ID.3 will actually travel 531 kilometres on one charge. This is especially relevant when going on vacation (see next question); depending on car model and price, electric vehicles and highways are more – or less – like oil and water. This is because on the highway, the output of an electric motor is constant and high, while recuperation is low. Here’s a real-life example: driving 80 km/h on flat, extra-urban roads, the Mercedes EQC runs on a maximum of 10 per cent engine power and recuperates diligently. By contrast, on the highway, engine power goes up to 20 per cent, while recuperation goes down to about 75 per cent of that on extra-urban roads.

In the case of the JAC e-S2, this halves the car’s range. The EQC, on the other hand, easily copes with highways. Fortunately, more and more fast chargers are being added to highway rest stops.

To combat the infamous problem of range anxiety, there are services such as this one from efahrer.chip.de (link in German). You can use them to get an estimated range based on your vehicle, driving style, outside temperature and average speed.

How do I charge an electric car at home?

If you’re the owner of single-family home, charging at home is no problem. Here’s what you do:

1. Find out how fast your electric car can charge.
2. Buy a charger.
3. Install the charger in your garage
4. Charge your car.

The charging speed of your electric car is specified in kilowatts (kW). At the moment, charging speeds above 100 kW are considered fast (even though the kW is technically not a unit of speed). Everything under 50 kW is slow. This is less of an issue with a home charger, because if you charge overnight you have plenty of time. So, you can easily charge your Mercedes EQC with 7 kW instead of the 110 kW it can take. For comparison: charging the EQC at 110 kW takes 40 minutes, while charging it at 7 kW takes 13 hours and 30 minutes. Your car can take care of that overnight.

If you own a condo and park your car in the communal garage, you’ll first have to obtain the consent of the condominium board (link in German) to install a home charger. Since each condominium is structured differently and differs in the details, I recommend that you contact your building’s administration beforehand.

If you live in a rented place, you may be out of luck. A landlord has no obligation to provide you with a charger or to allow you to install one. But a landlord can install a charger and either split the cost among the tenants or increase rent accordingly (link in German). Again: it’s a good idea to e-mail your building administration with any questions or concerns.

How does charging work on the road?

If you don’t have a charger at home or are taking a multi-day road trip, you’ll need to charge on the go. There are two factors to take into account: the charging plug and the cost of charging.

The plug type is clear: the CCS2 wins, though a Type 2 – or Mennekes – cable will also do. In the United States, on the other hand, the charger war is still being waged. There are plugs, technologies and public charging solution providers galore. In Europe, even Teslas have a plug that’s compatible with Mennekes sockets.

Your electric car will most likely come with a Mennekes cable, even if it can be charged with CCS2. Be sure to leave that cable in the trunk; some public charging stations have no cables, only plugs.

A tip from seasoned electric car drivers: there are two providers that are compatible with virtually all vehicles and any charging standard that also deliver fast charging speeds. No matter what electric car or motorcycle you drive, you’ll be able to charge at maximum speed.

1. Agrola
2. GoFast

When it comes to price, however, we’re still in the Wild West. Electricity is actually free at a small minority of chargers, while, at others, it can cost up to 54 rappen per kWh. For comparison, you’re unlikely to pay more than 20 rappen at your local electric company. There are other costs to take into account besides the high prices per kWh. If you’re at a charger for more than one hour, you’re likely to pay an additional fee. And if the charger is located in a parking garage, you’ll probably also have to pay a parking fee.

Check out this article by Dominik to learn more about the vast price differences in public charging – and why it’s still cheaper than gasoline or diesel:

Are there any subsidies for buying an electric car?

If you’re lucky, yes. For instance, if you live in the canton of Thurgau. Or Schaffhausen. Or the Valais. In these cantons, you receive a premium of 2,000 francs toward the purchase of an electric car.

And then there are individual cities and municipalities that also contribute some amount when you buy an electric car. In addition, many places offer subsidies for the installation of home chargers.

While not the most coherent, this overview of all funding measures (link in German) by Swiss eMobility should at least be complete.

Will cars with a combustion engine soon be worth less?

In the medium and long term, it stands to reason that the vast majority of combustion vehicles will lose a great deal of their value. After all, the EU announced a de facto ban on new registrations of gasoline and diesel-powered vehicles (link in German).

The closer this date gets, the more pressure is likely to be exerted on pricing in the used-car market. Economists are divided on what will happen in the next few years. Some predict the residual value of combustion-engine cars will already plummet in the short term. Others assume stable prices for a few more years, because not all people can or want to switch to electric cars yet, and because the price of gasoline remains fairly stable. A select few car models could perhaps even become collectors’ items – but these are as unlikely to include a mass-produced Golf as they are to include a dented minivan.
At the moment, there even seems to be a real run on used cars. As automotive expert at Comparis Andrea Auer said in a recent radio interview (link in German): the market has «essentially dried up». However, this is only partly related to the push toward electromobility; it’s rather because of the long waiting times for new cars due to the chip crisis.

Should I wait to buy an electric car until the technology has matured more?

You can find articles on new developments in e-mobility each week: improved battery performance, the possibility of using your car’s batteries as a power source for your home, faster charging speeds...

There’s no doubt that research in the field of electromobility is in full swing. If you don’t need a new car now or want to switch for environmental reasons, in a few months or a few years’ time, you’ll have a choice of cars with more powerful batteries or ones that charge faster.

But if you decide to buy an electric car right now, you won’t be missing much compared to a combustion-engine car. Of course, an electric car won’t travel 1,000 kilometres on one tank, as some diesels do today. But honestly, how often do you actually do this? For 99 per cent of all journeys, electric and combustion cars are equally convenient. The difference: driving electric is cheaper and more environmentally friendly.

Are electric cars cheaper to maintain?

The answer is a clear «yes». A 2013 study (link in German) already found that electric cars are cheaper to maintain because they have significantly fewer parts that are prone to wear and tear. This hold true to this day. Even Volkswagen itself assumes 35 per cent lower maintenance costs for electric vehicles (link in German) on its own website.

Insurance: it’s a tie

In addition to regular maintenance and servicing costs, there are other expenses that come into play. When it comes to insurance, electric cars and combustion engines are roughly on par with each other. Factors such as annual mileage, place of residence and age of the driver play the main role in determining the premium.

Electric cars and tax benefits

In contrast, electric cars do better in terms of vehicle tax. In most cases, they’re actually exempt from the tax; or, at the very least, you get a discount. But vehicle tax is cantonal. So, here’s an overview of the conditions in each canton (available in German/French/Italian).

Electricity: much cheaper than gasoline and diesel

Another important factor in running costs is consumption, i.e. what you pay at the gas station or for charging. We’ve already looked at how charging works and how much it costs above.
The crux of the matter: electricity is much cheaper than gas. But you do have to expect a higher initial investment. A private charger will run you about 1,000 francs, and the same amount will likely be due again in installation fees.

Anything else?

There you have it: an initial overview for e-mobility newbies. What other topics are you interested in? What other articles would you like to read? Let us know in the comments!