The European fast charging station operator Ionity, founded by Volkswagen, BMW, Daimler and Ford, will increase its prices at the end of January. The 0.79 euros accruing per kilowatt hour (kWh) will usually only be paid by customers without a contract, although offers from Volkswagen brands are significantly cheaper. There is a lot of discussion about the pricing model online, Ionity boss Michael Hajesch has now given his opinion.
When asked about the feedback on the new awards, Hajesch told the magazine Emoblythat there was the full range – “from understanding to indignation”. The company will take this as an opportunity to better explain “the Ionity product”.
Hajesch emphasized that the charging network offered was open, meaning that it could be used by all electric cars with the European CCS quick charging standard – that would not change. The company boss also pointed out that Ionity is currently the only company to install so-called HPC columns with a charging capacity of up to 350 kW. Although this does not yet support a production model, the correspondingly fast tapping of electricity is considered essential for the breakthrough of long-distance e-mobility.
Another key criterion for the charging infrastructure is availability. Ionity not only offers one charging station per location, but four to six of them. “The maximum charging power and not always just a 50 kW charger, but up to 350 kW, which means we can serve the entire range of vehicles from yesterday, today and tomorrow,” said Hajesch. They also use green electricity, have a 24-hour hotline with seven languages and are always right on the highway.
The entire range of services was lost in the discussion about the new price of 79 cents per kWh, said Hajesch. In addition, there is the possibility to benefit from more attractive conditions through some charging service providers. However, with Audi and Porsche, only two subsidiaries of the Volkswagen group involved in Ionity have recently introduced cheap tariffs.
“It is not Ionity that makes the end customer offer,” emphasized Hajesch. It is important to differentiate that the respective service providers of the manufacturers prepare the end customer offer. How they set the respective price is up to them. The conditions agreed by Ionity with commercial partners are “systematically identical for everyone”. The exact price for the charging services, on the basis of which the charges for the end customers would then be determined, depend on the volume and individual requirements of the partners.
As a future partner for charging services with individual, i.e. more favorable, conditions, Hajesch could also imagine Tesla, for example, he said Emobly, By the end of the year, he plans to operate 400 so-called quick-charging parks with Ionity, and the company’s website currently shows over 207 locations. After the first phase, further pillars on main roads could be added, but charging points in cities are also under discussion.
–
