Car pour l'instant, les réseaux Izivia, Ionity, et Total sont insuffisants pour voyager. La lettre est forcément en anglais, c'est pour avis et pour savoir si je peux agir au nom de l'ACOZE France ou non. C'est en voyant cette vidéo sur Fully Charged (à 10 minutes de lecture) quand on voit comment est dimensionnée la station Polar (et l'état lamentable d'Ionity en face), que j'ai été inspiré de les contacter.
Subject: extension of Polar Network to France
Dear Sir/Madam,
As a UK expatriate living in France, as an EV driver and member of several EV-driver associations (in particular, ACOZE France), I’m frequently amazed by the lack of EV-charging infrastructure in France, especially fast-charging (50kW+) on motorways and other major routes. Given my double nationality, I keep up to date with how the market is developing in the UK (through contacts with UK EV drivers’ associations, and by following sources such as the popular “Fully Charged Show”). There’s a huge difference and therefore an opportunity in France.
The French state, as part of its response to the COVID-induced economic situation, has finally reacted to the dire state of the charging network by increasing financial aid to any companies who wish to start deploying rapid-charging infrastructure, in order to ensure that state-aid to help the French automobile industry to pivot to electric vehicles doesn’t fail due to lack of infrastructure. But so far, there’s a lot of sitting on the fence.
In summary of the current situation:
So, there’s clearly space in the market for someone to step in, create a national network with proper charging hubs, who knows something about reliability (SLAs, spare parts contracts, qualified technicians…) and customer service, and attract the ever-increasing number of EV drivers in France (and travelling through France), especially given the poor experience up to present.
- EDF subsidiary IZIVIA permanently switched off the only national charging network, which mainly consisted of single-charger stations at roughly 100km intervals. These were notoriously unreliable.
- IONITY has an incomplete network, with expensive per-minute rates and some reliability issues reported by EV-driver association members.
- TOTAL has installed one single 4-charger station several miles south-west of Paris over a year ago, with no information about extending the network.
- Some local councils have installed regional networks with patchy coverage, inconsistent pricing, and generally limited to 22 kW AC, again with variable reliability.
Consider deploying hubs on major routes or around cities, to avoid costs and issues related to acquiring space on French motorways (subject to tolls and operator franchises).
Remember that France has a similar population and EV ownership level compared with the UK, but different geography, with higher potential for longer-distance travel.
Having seen Polar charging stations in the UK (multiple units, all working, with a sane pricing model), notably via “Fully Charged” and other media, I really hope you consider extending your network to France and securing market share. Even with the uncertainty surrounding Brexit, COVID-19, now is the time to look to the future!
I look forward to hearing from you soon.
Best regards,
Christopher Brown
Member of Steering Committee, ACOZE France
