Charging an electric car across Europe

What the law guarantees you at a public charger

The EU’s AFIR regulation has applied since 13 April 2024. What it means at the plug:

1. Every public charge point installed since 13 April 2024 must let you charge without registering — “ad hoc” — with a payment method widely used in the EU.
2. Chargers of 50 kW and more installed since then must have a payment card reader or contactless reader. From 1 January 2027 the older ones must have one too.
3. Below 50 kW a QR code or another online payment is enough. At slower chargers you may need a phone with mobile data.
4. The ad hoc price per kWh, and any occupancy fee per minute, must be shown before you start charging.
5. Your charge card or app provider may not add an extra charge for charging in another EU country. Its own tariff can still differ from the operator’s ad hoc price.

🇳🇴 Norway: new DC fast chargers must take payment cards since July 2023; older stations are exempt (in 2024 about a quarter of DC chargers had a card reader).

🌍 Switzerland, the UK and the Western Balkans are outside the EU: these guarantees do not apply there as such. Check the operator before you rely on a card.

How not to get stuck: a checklist

The problems drivers report most, and the habit that avoids each one.

• Carry two ways to pay: a contactless bank card and one charging app or card that works in the countries on your route.
• Keep mobile data on abroad. Slower chargers may only take payment through a QR code or an app.
• Check the price on the screen or in the app before you plug in. The same charger can cost very differently depending on how you pay — BEUC found differences of up to three times.
• Know the occupancy fee: many operators charge per minute once you are full or after a set time. Move the car when it is done.
• Always have a second charger within range. In 2025 only 68.5 % of French charge points were continuously operational (BEUC).
• Expect a pre-authorisation hold on your card and keep the receipt or the app record — itemised receipts are not mandatory yet.

100 km per country: home, fast charger, petrol

An electric car using 18 kWh/100 km and a petrol car using 7 L/100 km, each country’s own prices.

Two different prices, never averaged. “Home” is Eurostat’s household electricity price including all taxes. “Fast” is the range IONITY publishes for charging without an account: its minimum per country and its “up to” maximum — the price depends on the charging point. One operator, not a national average: other networks, apps and subscriptions can be cheaper or dearer, and no official source publishes a current average for public charging.

Sources

• Regulation (EU) 2023/1804 (AFIR), Articles 5 and 26 · Nationale Leitstelle
• BEUC, “Plugged in, priced out”, 30 July 2026
• electrive, Norwegian card-payment rule at DC chargers, 6 September 2024
• Eurostat, household electricity prices (nrg_pc_204), 2026-S1
• IONITY, Direct prices per country (max.), July 1, 2026 · IONITY Direct (min.), July 22, 2026