ANWB: Charging most affordable in Norway and most expensive in Switzerland

The Dutch mobility organization ANWB has studied the charging habits of its members all across Europe this summer. They researched the data of their members’ charging passes (ANWB laadpas), which have been charged 63,000 times abroad this summer.

Most charging sessions were in France (24,615), Germany (17,202), Belgium (5,179), and Italy (4,278). Still, some Dutchmen also charged north of the Polar Circle in Norway, Iceland, or the deep south on the Mediterranean coast.

For all countries with more than 500 charging sessions, the ANWB calculated the average charging fee, making a difference between AC charging (public charging points in villages or along normal roads) and DC charging (mostly on highways but also at supermarkets or shopping centers). This charging fee includes all extra costs, like a starting fee or an overtime fee (also known as a blocking fee).

Norway is the cheapest, and Switzerland most expensive

Norway offers the cheapest AC and DC charging, while Switzerland is the most costly. For an average EV, the charging price per 100 km is €7.26 in Norway and more than double (€14.69) in Switzerland.

Of course, there is a difference in price between AC (slow) charging and DC (fast) charging in most countries. In most of them, DC charging is more expensive, ranging from just a little more (104% in Switzerland, 106% in Denmark, 107% in Austria) to much more (139% in Croatia and 146% in the Netherlands).

Strangely enough, there are two countries where the opposite is true. In Spain, the average fee for DC charging is 98% of that for AC charging, and in France, it’s even 97%. That’s odd when you know that DC charging infrastructure is more costly to install than AC charging poles.

According to ANWB, the reason lies in the so-called blocking fee. This fee can be much higher on AC charging points because people tend to stay much longer than the time necessary to charge.

With fast chargers, this is much less frequent because it contradicts the aim of spending as short a time as possible. In some countries, the fast-charging network has been expanded a lot, and competition between networks has also lowered the price.

These blocking fees can raise the price spectacularly in countries like Austria, France, or Germany, while the risk is minimal in countries like Croatia and Norway. When on holiday, fast charging seems to be the way to go. AC charging can still be tricky, especially when one can’t check the fee (possible hidden costs included).

Electric charging or fossil refueling?

ANWB has also compared the average price of charging an EV or refueling an ICE car. For the comparison, they chose an EV with an average electric consumption of 16.5 kWh and a gasoline car with an average consumption of 6.5 l/100km.

In the comparison, ANW also distinguished between AC and DC charging and refueling at a local gas station and a big highway fuel station.

The result is that charging is often cheaper but not always everywhere. In countries where fuel prices are still low, like Belgium and Luxembourg, or where electricity is expensive, like Austria and Switzerland, refueling can still be cheaper than recharging.

Of course, this remark only applies to charging/refueling abroad. Most EV owners also charge at home, and charging is a lot less expensive than refueling, even at the cheapest gas station.