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Public charging stations for electric cars

Charging your EV at a public charging station is simple. Discover how to find your nearest EV charging points and learn all about charging electric cars on-the-go.

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Charging on-the-go

Charging from home is one of the most convenient benefits of owing an electric vehicle, but what happens on long distance journeys? Where are public charge points located, how much do they cost and how can you prepare to stay sufficiently charged for the duration of your journey. We answer all of these questions and more in our guide to public charging for electric cars.

How to plan a road trip in an electric car

Planning is crucially important when embarking on a long road trip in an electric car and it goes all the way back to the purchase of your EV. If you plan to take lots of long trips you’ll need to invest in a car with a high range, for example, even in an electric car with a range of 160 miles you should expect to have to stop and charge a few times on a particularly long journey. A car with a higher range in the region of 200-300 miles will obviously last a lot longer before needing to re-charge but the outset cost of these BEV’s is much more.

It is possible to make long journeys in an electric car and with the help of a charge point map app like our E.ON Drive app you can see at a glance, on our charge point map, the location of the nearest charging station is allowing you to prepare for each re-charging stop you’ll need to make along the way.

Infographic reads: Charging made simple. Finding a place to charge is getting simpler everyday with growing smart, integrated charging infrastructure across the UK and Europe including the E.ON Drive network. Place include: in the city, at hotels, at work, at home, at the supermarket, at public car parks.

The electric vehicle charging eco-system

As the electric revolution takes off, the choice of places to charge is growing...

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How to use public charging points

1. Start charging

Lift the charge point cable and connect to the charging socket on your vehicle.

2. Socket type

Select the socket type from the selection shown on the charge point touch screen.

3. Payment

Select your payment method. This could be contactless, RFID card, app or pay as you go.

4. Stop charging

Follow the instructions to stop charging, release the cable and disconnect it from your vehicle.

Car parked and charging at an E.ON charging station

Our ultra fast charging network

We've built a network of over 3000 Ultra Fast Charging (UFC) stations across the UK and Europe.

To give you the most out of your re-charge our ultra-fast charging points will give you up to 175kW of power meaning you can dramatically reduce the time you have to stop to charge your battery.

Find a charging point near you

Where to charge your electric car on a long journey

Charging points are available in many public places, from motorway service to supermarket car parks, lots of businesses are providing infrastructure to support the growing number of EV drivers on the road.

How to find public chargers near you?

These days it's pretty easy to find a charge point using apps like Google maps, Zap-Map, PlugShare and our very own E.ON Drive app. They offer a map of charge points across the UK and Europe making it super straight forward to find public charging points when you're out and about. You can also find information on rapid chargers, free chargers, and anything else you're looking for from a charging station, all at your fingertips.

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You don't have to be an E.ON customer to get an EV charger from us. Get a no-hassle quote today and see which charger and installation package is for you!

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Understand how fast your car is able to charge

Although there are many ultra-rapid and rapid public chargers out there, you'll need to make sure that your car is compatible with charging at these speeds, particularly if you're timing a journey. For example, if your car can only charge up to 7kW, it will only charge at this rate using a rapid charger and will therefore take longer to charge than a car with a higher charge speed capability.
Know the type of charger that's available at each public station

It's key to find the right connection for your EV but there are a variety of different charging plugs for the different power networks. CSS (Combined Charging System), CHAdeMO and Type 2 are the most common. EVs like the Nissan Leaf and Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV support CHAdeMO rapid charging. with cars like the BMW i3, Kia e-Niro, and Jaguar I-Pace compatible with CSS.
Understand the real-world range of your car

It's key to find the right connection for your EV but there are a variety of different charging plugs for the different power networks. CSS (Combined Charging System), CHAdeMO and Type 2 are the most common. EVs like the Nissan Leaf and Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV support CHAdeMO rapid charging. with cars like the BMW i3, Kia e-Niro, and Jaguar I-Pace compatible with CSS.
Plan regular breaks to rest and re-charge

With long periods of driving, even in a petrol car it's advisable to take regular breaks, to rest and re-focus mid-journey. With an electric car you can make the most of these breaks by planning them in advance so that you can stop at a motorway service station with a charge point and re-charge whilst you rest.

How much does it cost to charge your EV at a public charge point?

From fast chargers at a premium rate to free charging at the supermarket, the cost of public charging is still incredibly variable and dependent on a few things.

Are electric car charge points free?

There are some free charging points in the UK and it's a great incentive for EV drivers, but you'll need to consider that you probably won't be able to rely totally on free charging, you may also have to consider how popular they may be and how that may impact on the waiting time to actually use one.

How fast are free chargers?

Another thing to consider about free chargers is the speed. You're most likely to find 7kW or 3kW free chargers, similar to the speeds you'll find at home, so it's probably best to use these for top-ups rather than a full re-charge

How much are rapid and ultra-rapid chargers?

When you start to look at rapid and ultra rapid chargers the cost goes up but it's still cheaper than petrol. As an example, you could charge a Nissan Ariya Evolve 87kWh Auto with a 50kW charger in an hour for just £15.66¹

You can locate public charge points on the E.ON Drive map.

Find out more about the running costs of electric cars

Do charging stations work for all electric cars?

All connectors are not compatible with every electric car or hybrid. Your manufacturer should have provided information about the power output and connector type that's right for your vehicle when you bought your car.

The three most common types of connector are the CHAdeMO, Type 2 and the CSS (Combined Charging System).

CHAdeMO is a fast-charging system DC (Direct Current)voltage charging with up to 100 kW.
Type 2 connectors are compatible with our home chargers and can support charging at 3.7kW to 11kW on a single or 3 phase supply.
CSS also known as Combo 2 – allows you to charge on DC and AC, allowing faster charging.

Find out more in our guide to chargers and accessories

Articles and guides on electric vehicle charging

We have a range of guides, pages and articles about electric vehicle charging from the benefits of electric cars to battery capacity and lifespan, we can help you understand more about electric vehicles.

Electric vehicle battery capacity and lifespan

Learn more about battery capacity

How much does it cost to charge an electric car?

More about cost to charge

Home charge points from us

View our home chargers

Electric vehicle charging guides

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How do you install a home charge point?

Read about installation

Do electric cars need much maintenance?

More about EV servicing