Did supercharger network influence your buying decision

[JayMac]

Yes, I would go as far as saying I probably wouldn’t own an EV if it weren’t for the Network. It’s just a lot more convenient then anything else available. Drove
To Poland and back this year and it was faultless. I’ve done the same trip in a ICE Merc and with the correct planning the difference is marginal in time taken but managed to drive the whole way and half the cost.

 

[BigPoppa]

Yes...

My Model Y capped off my conversion to all electric vehicles.

My Energica motorcycles and Chevy Bolt all us CCS for their DC charging. I commute(d) (pre-pandemic) primarily by motorcycle and my Bolt is my daily driver, especially around town and between neighboring towns.

I had a reservation for a Mustang Mach-E but since the Mustang was intended to be my road trip vehicle and after experiencing the unpredictability of CCS charger availability and pricing, I started looking at the Teslas again (I had originally decided in favor of the Mach-E). Having experienced the ease of use of a supercharger and knowing the number of supercharger stations that are out there, especially on the west coast which is where 99% of my road trips occur, I'm glad I canceled my Mach-E reservation and bought the Model Y.

IMHO the CCS charging infrastructure is what will hold back other manufacturers' EV efforts. Until someone (private or government) steps up and beefs up the CCS charger availability and standardizes on a consistent billing and payment system, I personally feel that Tesla will continue to lead EV adoption, especially if road trips are a large part of your use case.

For my electric motorcycles and Bolt, it's not as much as an issue since I do 99% of my charging at home or the office (again pre-pandemic). I won't take those on any kind of road trip though as long as I have the Tesla.

 

[98dizzard]

Totally. And if I were to buy again today I'd still get a Tesla even knowing of the variable build quality and extremely variable customer service.

I thought by now that the public charging network would be some way to catching up, but just as it seems more chargers are going in they start charging silly money..

I think at the moment they know when you need one, you really need one. Then there's them trying to lock you in with an expensive monthly subscription for cheaper rates. It's not good, and hopefully some point there will be enough for proper competition, like fuel stations.

 

[Gatsojon]

Yes for me. I would usually be doing regular trips between Manchester and Glasgow/Edinburgh so needed to know I could get a top up en-route without adding to my journey time. In the end I’ve only done that drive once.

 

[snowywhite]

It did...a lot....at the time of purchase.

Now though - what I've come to realise after a few supercharger sessions - it's only using the 150kw (or close) for a small duration of the charge.

Where I stay - we have loads of rapid chargers and 7kW public chargers and more are being added every month.

If put to the decision again - I would go with either the Polestar 2, the Porsche or even the VW offering - the issues with paint, alignment and trim that I've had and Tesla's general "it's within spec" attitude (not everyone will have these issues) make me want better.

 

[Jason71]

No supercharger near here, I just wanted a electric car because of grants from the government.

Unless you don't have a drive its not the ones near you that matter its the ones 200 miles away that count

 

[Mr Miserable]

Yes it did.
I knew it was an important factor in my decision to go for a Model 3 over an iPace but in retrospect it is a really, really important factor. If you want to travel any distance in an EV the Tesla Supercharging network is simply unbeatable and will be for some time to come. I have used IONITY and had to ring their customer service number to get the charger to work. I have never had to call Tesla. Being able to confirm on the car's route planner that the superchargers you are planning to use are working is great and eases any lingering range anxiety.
If it wasn't for COVID restrictions I would have by now had extensive experience of the European supercharging network too but if ABRP is anything to go by it would be a complete non-event for any of the trips planned. Before taking delivery I acquired every plug socket adapter known to man and extension cables that could reach 'way over there' - all unnecessary and unused.
A good mate of mine continued down the iPace route and his is a very different story when it comes to charging. He managed to swap to an ICE Jaguar in the summer. He won't be going down the EV route again for years - not even a Tesla. That's a shame.

 

[Silicon Desert]

Never thought twice about the supercharging network when I bought my first one almost 5 years ago. Mostly local travel and that is why.

 

[Spacep0d]

Unless you don't have a drive its not the ones near you that matter its the ones 200 miles away that count

This. Any EV owner with the right living arrangement can charge at home, though not everyone can charge much beyond trickle-charging (depending on their situation). What counts is what charging is like when you're on a road trip or somewhere far from home. How reliable is the network? Uptime? How fast? Expanding? Tesla wins hands-down here, especially in the States.

 

[darkNstormy]

The supercharger network clinched it for me. I do over 20,000 miles a year and have never had range anxiety once. There have usually been cheaper chargers on my route (either free vend or a capped price) but always factored into a journey to be able to reach a supercharger. Have needed to use that contingency twice, otherwise would likely have been delayed several hours finding a working charger.

 

[phil4]

As the latest Harrys Garage has changed, getting it right isn't rocket science (and I have no idea why it's taken them as long), so people like InstaVolt make it an absolute doddle. If others go the same route, then it'll just get easier to use other charging stations, and so we move onto more EVs.

 

[tess19]

Another bonus of the Tesla supercharger is that it is integrated with the satnav. My other non-tesla ev which i will not name will happily let me set my route to my destination knowing full well i will not make it. It will probably let me know that when it is too late.

 

[tomorrowman]

Another bonus of the Tesla supercharger is that it is integrated with the satnav. My other non-tesla ev which i will not name will happily let me set my route to my destination knowing full well i will not make it. It will probably let me know that when it is too late.

Wow !!!

 

[Drew57]

Yes, even though I'm retired and only do a few +300m journeys per normal year.

 

[Rockster]

When we bought our first Tesla there were only 36 superchargers in the entire world and none in Texas. While the supercharger network wasn't a factor in our deciding to buy our first Tesla, we have definitely come to appreciate the network, both for our own use and as a hugely differentiating feature of the Tesla brand.

 

[Ferris the Cat]

Definitely.

I have a client network across the UK (and Europe) and a 500 mile day is not that rare. I did consider the Polestar, but stories of ICE'd charge points, ghost chargers, chargers that simply don't work and a hit and miss real time occupancy all pointed me in the direction of the SC network.

That, and the various places i have pulled into that have rows of the shiny little beggars, all sat waiting unlike the sorry looking Ecotricity ones, at the other end of the service station.

Of course, I also decided that if i am going to go EV, then it has to be with the disrupter, so it had to be Tesla. Ever since i had a go in my mate's Roadster about 10 years ago, I had hankered after one.

So yes, it was a case of using the best charge network out there.