brennesel

That sounds much better to me. The other version just sounded like fear-mongering by the diesel lobby.

To be honest, I wasn’t expecting such a nuanced answer. Thanks for that! It’s much easier to just spout an opinion than to actually look up some facts.

When it comes to electric vehicles, I just get worked up really quickly because I keep hearing these statements that discourage others from trying it out for themselves. I especially wanted to set the record straight on these exaggerated claims:

Third party chargers are completely enshittyfied in Germany, with outrageous prices, a billion different providers, each one forcing you to use their shitty app, and with slow charging and unreliable service.

Of course there is room for improvement but nowadays it’s just not as bad as stated there.

You really do seem to be a power user, and I recognise that your experiences have been different from mine. It just surprises me that you seem to run into difficulties so often. It might be because I don’t see it as a big deal if, on very rare occasions, I have to switch to a charging point right next to it if the first one doesn’t work straight away. As long as I don’t have to drive to a completely different location, it’s no problem for me.

Regarding your satisfaction report: I couldn’t find the exact questions that were asked. Therefore, I can’t tell whether there were serious technical issues or if people simply said there could be more options for buying coffee nearby. (Actually, I can’t explain to myself why more businesses haven’t set up shop near charging points.)

Amid all these facts, you single out the one paragraph where I mentioned my personal experience and counter it with your own anecdotal evidence? Please try a little harder.

That’s just the perception of people who’ve never driven an electric car themselves in recent years.

The availability of charging stations in Germany has improved dramatically since 2023: from 10,000 to over 55,000 fast-charging stations. Whether at rest stops, supermarkets, public parking lots, or at work, you can find one just about anywhere. There are hardly any regions left where you can’t find a fast-charging station (≥ 150 kW) within 10 km.

After driving over 40,000 km in two years, I’ve never had to switch charging stations due to a technical malfunction.

And just like with cell phone plans, you only need to register for a charging card once, and it covers 99% of your needs. You don’t need a bunch of different providers, and you don’t have to use an app at all if you don’t want to.

As for prices: With a monthly base fee of 12 €, there are plans starting at 39 cents per kWh, and without a base fee, prices are around 50 cents per kWh, which I consider reasonable.

Not even a couple of days, just 18 hours according to the Guardian.

For anyone wondering if real piss is involved, this is from the Wiki:

There is a misconception that century eggs are prepared by soaking eggs in horse urine, but this is not true. In Thai and Lao, the common word for century egg translates to “horse urine egg”, due to this misconception or due to the eggs’ ammonia odor:

Thai: ไข่เยี่ยวม้า [kʰàj jîaw máː] (RTGS: khai yiao ma)

Lao: ໄຂ່ຍ່ຽວມ້າ [kʰāj ɲīaw mâː]