VW Group Streamlines EV Charging Costs & Access

The Volkswagen Group volume brands – Volkswagen, Cupra/Seat, and ŠKODA – are launching a new program to provide full EV charging cost transparency, simple fee structures, and expanded European charging networks.

The Volkswagen brands now offer fee plans for public charging, allowing customers to charge at fixed kilowatt-hour prices throughout the entire charging network. Volkswagen is also growing its European charging network, which includes more than 310,000 charging points, of which 3,000-plus feature 10,000 fast chargers.

"We want to offer our customers an optimal charging experience and make the e-car an uncompromisingly first-time vehicle choice. For this reason, we are emphatically addressing the issues of price transparency, network expansion and charging comfort,” says Elke Temme, CEO Volkswagen Group Charging GmbH and senior vice president charging & Energy Volkswagen Group Components.

With the goal of leading the e-mobility market, Volkswagen is “building a complete ecosystem for our customers, which also includes the key topic of charging,’ said Hildegard Wortmann, Volkswagen Group board member for sales.

Three basic fee plans, each with fixed prices per kilowatt hour charged, will be available to customers of We Charge (Volkswagen), Powerpass (ŠKODA), Easy Charging (SEAT/CUPRA) and Elli, Volkswagen’s in-house brand.

Beginning later this year, the new "Selected Partner" program will highlight for drivers nearby charging stations in the electric car’s navigation system. Working with charging park operators, the program identifies quality charging stations by such criteria as reliability, weather protection and catering options.

The new Plug&Charge function is designed to provide quick, easy vehicle charging. Identifying itself at the corresponding charging stations using the ISO 15188 standard, a vehicle automatically starts the charging process. The function installation is also convenient: activated via a software update in all e-cars of the volume brands based on the MEB architecture beginning mid-2022. Plug&Charge is supported by IONITY, Aral/bp, E.ON and Iberdrola charging networks, among others.

Volkswagen is investing in the development of an open fast-charging network worldwide. By 2025, some 45,000 High Power Charging points are planned in Europe, China and the U.S. The product range includes the entire spectrum of charging solutions for private customers and companies – from the company's own wallbox and flexible fast-charging station to charging services and smart green electricity fees.