As the charging sector shifts its focus from infrastructure rollout to rethinking payment schedules, the latest pricing innovation comes from Ionity. Europe’s largest ultra-fast charging network will literally pay drivers to disconnect before their battery is full. The reason? Free up charging space.
The new scheme, called ‘Fast Lane Reward’, gives you 5 kWh of free charging credit if you pull the plug at 80% state of charge. Or even earlier. In any case, as long as you unplug before 85%. The motivation is painfully obvious to anyone who has queued at a fast charging station before.
Filling up from 80% to 100% takes roughly as long as charging from 10% to 80%. The last 20% of a battery always drains at a snail’s pace to prevent damage.
By rewarding conscious charging, Ionity hopes to improve the rotation of vehicles at its stations. The customer can activate the service through the app, which automatically notifies when the critical battery level has been reached.
Second carrot
A direct credit will result in a better response than applying a polite sticker on the charging posts. The credit is automatically applied to your next session if you stop between 80% and 85% during daytime hours. These run from 9.00 a.m. to 5.00 p.m.
There is a second carrot, too, linked to peak times at the stations. Charge between 10.00 p.m. and 6.00 a.m., and you also get 5 kWh free. Both rewards require a minimum session of 40 kWh. That only seems fair; smart drivers could get a free lunch for topping up from 70% to 75%.
Carrot or stick?
The interesting part is the approach. In contrast to Electrify America in the US, Ionity chooses incentives over enforcement. The American charging operator cuts your charging session dead at 85% state of charge and gives you ten minutes to move before idle fees kick in. That is applying the stick, while Ionity is offering a carrot.
Will it work? Behavioral economists would probably argue yes. The credit is small (5 kWh is worth a few euros at most), but it triggers the right psychological reflex. It frames efficient charging as a gain rather than a loss. Instead of being punished for taking too long, you are being rewarded for leaving early.
Teams that fix bottlenecks
The timing seems tactical, too. Summer holiday traffic across Europe is about to surge, and charging session frequency will peak. Next to the Fast Lane Reward, Ionity is also deploying Charge Champions teams.
These wardens assist with charging sessions, making them more efficient and helping manage queues. This, however, will not be a temporary holiday season stunt.
That is important because the underlying problem is structural. Europe’s EV fleet is growing faster than its charging infrastructure in some corridors.
Ionity is expanding aggressively, planning to more than double its charging points from roughly 6,000 today to around 13,000 by 2030, and to grow from 750 to 1,300 locations. But even that strategy will not eliminate peak-hour congestion if further measures remain untouched.
Gradually, we are moving toward a trend in which charging etiquette is becoming comparable to traffic etiquette. Only this time, you can make some money out of it.
