There are now more than 400 Tesla Supercharger stations across Europe
While others creep forward, Tesla has been rapidly expanding its own charging network
TESLA has announced that it now has 3,200 Superchargers at more than 400 locations across Europe.
Expansion of its European electric vehicle charging network has been rapid on the continent, starting with five countries in 2013 and growing to 23 in 2018, extending from Scotland down through the UK, and across mainland Europe into Spain and Italy as well up through Scandinavia as far as Sørkjosen, Norway.
As its name suggests, the Supercharger can replenish a Tesla car’s battery rapidly, by current electric car charging standards, with the 120kW points giving a Tesla Model S up to 170 miles of driving range in just 30 minutes.
New, ultra-fast 175kW chargers are being introduced for the latest generation electric cars from the likes of Jaguar and Porsche, and even faster technology will follow, but while these will be slow in coming on-stream, Tesla’s own customer network is already well established.
Superchargers are free to use for Model S and Model X owners, often via a referral code. Owners of the more affordable Model 3, meanwhile, will have to pay to recharge the vehicle’s battery, with the cost dependent upon local electricity rates.
Tesla claims its European network of superchargers has now fuelled 850m electric kilometres, which is, Tesla says, the equivalent of more than 1,100 trips to the Moon and back or driving 21,000 times around the Earth.
Last year, the Elon Musk-led Tesla brand added as many as eight locations a month and opened 20 new Superchargers a week in Europe.
Growth of the network over time has increased with ownership in Europe. And as demand grows, some sites are packing in huge numbers of superchargers. These include Breukelen in the Netherlands with 28 and Rygge in Norway with 34.
According to Tesla, the network fuelled almost 70,000 cross-border trips last year with the two most travelled routes running through France and Germany as drivers from northern Europe headed to the Mediterranean.
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