Taking an EV to France: What We Wish We’d Known Before Our Road Trip

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Taking our EV to France wasn’t actually the original plan.

In fact, if you’d asked me a few weeks before our trip whether I fancied driving an electric car around France, I probably would have said no. Not because we’d had any problems with our EV at home, but because taking it abroad felt like an entirely different prospect.

Would there be enough chargers? Would we understand how to use them? What if we arrived at one and couldn’t get it to work? And, of course, there was that big question every EV owner has probably thought about at some point: what if we run out of charge?

Our plan had been to take our diesel car. However, in the run-up to our holiday it started misbehaving and we simply didn’t feel confident taking it all the way to France.

So, rather last minute, we made the decision to take the EV instead.

And after all that worrying?

It was an absolute breeze.

If you’re considering taking an EV to France but you’re feeling apprehensive about it, hopefully our experience will put your mind at ease.

Is it easy to drive an EV to France?

Based on our experience, yes – incredibly easy.

The thing that surprised us most was just how well set up France seemed to be for electric cars. Before travelling, I’d built charging into my head as something we’d constantly have to think about.

In reality, it wasn’t like that at all.

We found EV chargers everywhere, particularly when travelling on the French toll roads. Rather than desperately searching for somewhere to stop when our battery started getting low, we could simply incorporate charging into the stops we would have made anyway.

Coffee, toilet break, stretch our legs, charge the car and carry on.

It quickly became a completely normal part of the journey.

Charging our EV in France with Electroverse

One of my biggest concerns about charging in France wasn’t actually finding a charger. It was using one.

Although you can obviously navigate things when travelling abroad, I didn’t particularly fancy standing in a service station car park trying to decipher instructions on an unfamiliar charging point while everyone was tired and just wanted to get back on the road.

This is where the Electroverse app made such a difference for us.

We were able to use Electroverse to manage our charging rather than having to navigate the individual chargers themselves. It removed that worry about language barriers and made the whole experience feel much more familiar.

For me, this was probably one of the biggest reasons our experience felt so straightforward.

If you’re planning your first European road trip in an EV, I’d definitely recommend getting your charging apps sorted before you leave rather than waiting until you’re standing next to a charger in France.

There are EV chargers everywhere in France

This was probably our biggest surprise.

We genuinely couldn’t believe how many charging points we came across.

Obviously, it’s still sensible to plan ahead – particularly if you’re travelling away from major routes – but while we were driving through France, we never felt worried that we wouldn’t be able to find somewhere to charge.

The French toll roads made things particularly easy.

As you’re travelling, the road signs give you information about upcoming service areas, including where charging facilities are available. This meant we could see where our next opportunity to charge would be and make a decision about whether to stop or continue to the next one.

It took away so much of the dreaded range anxiety.

Instead of thinking, “We’ve only got X miles left – where on earth are we going to charge?”, we knew there were more charging opportunities coming up.

That made the journey feel surprisingly relaxed.

We didn’t need to plan every charging stop

Before travelling, I’d imagined we’d need an incredibly detailed route planned out.

Stop here. Charge to this percentage. Drive this many miles. Charge again.

We didn’t.

Of course, knowing roughly where you’re heading and keeping an eye on your range is sensible, but we found there were enough charging opportunities that we didn’t need to obsessively plan every single stop.

And actually, travelling as a family means you’re stopping periodically anyway.

Someone needs the toilet. Someone wants a drink. We want a coffee. Everyone needs to stretch their legs.

By the time we’d done all of that, the car had been charging too.

It wasn’t really an inconvenience at all.

EV charging in France was cheaper than we expected

Another pleasant surprise was the cost.

We found charging our EV in France noticeably cheaper than public charging back home in the UK.

I’d gone into the trip thinking that taking the EV might potentially make the journey more expensive or complicated. Instead, the charging costs were another reason we came away wondering why we’d been so worried about taking it in the first place.

Obviously, charging prices vary between networks, locations and charging speeds, so I wouldn’t assume every charger in France will always be cheaper than every UK charger.

But based on the chargers we used during our trip, we were really pleased with how much it cost us.

TIP: If you’re planning your own trip, make a note of your actual charging costs as you travel. It’s really interesting to add everything up afterwards and compare it with what you would have spent on petrol or diesel.

What about range anxiety?

This was probably my biggest concern before we left.

Range anxiety isn’t really something I think about very much when we’re driving around at home. We know the area, we know where chargers are that fit our weekly routine.

Take that familiarity away and suddenly it feels very different.

But strangely, I think driving through France actually made me less anxious about EV range.

The combination of plentiful chargers, clear motorway signage and being able to use Electroverse meant we always felt like we knew what our options were.

We didn’t wait until the battery was almost empty before looking for somewhere to stop either. If we were stopping and there was a convenient charger available, we’d make use of it.

That little bit of flexibility meant we never came remotely close to having a charging disaster.

Our tips for taking an EV to France

Having now done it ourselves, there are a few things I’d recommend if you’re planning your first EV road trip through France:

• Set up your charging apps before leaving the UK. Don’t wait until you’re standing at a charger to start downloading apps and creating accounts.
• Check that your payment details are up to date. It’s one less thing to worry about when you’re travelling.
• Don’t let your battery get unnecessarily low. If you’re stopping anyway and charging is available, it can make sense to top up.
• Use the toll-road signage. We found it really useful for seeing where upcoming charging stops were.
• Combine charging with normal family stops. Grab a coffee, use the toilets and stretch your legs while the car charges.
• Keep an eye on prices. Charging costs can vary, so check the rate rather than assuming every charger costs the same.
• Have a backup payment method. Even if you’re primarily using an app or charging card, it’s sensible to have another option available.
• Don’t overthink it. This is probably the biggest lesson we learned!

Would we take our EV to France again?

Absolutely.

It’s funny to think that taking the EV wasn’t even our original plan. We only really made the decision because we didn’t trust our diesel car to make the journey.

What felt like the riskier option actually ended up being incredibly straightforward.

There were chargers everywhere we needed them, the toll-road signage made finding charging stops simple, Electroverse meant we didn’t have to worry about navigating unfamiliar charging systems in another language, and charging was cheaper than we’d been used to in the UK.

Most importantly, we never had that horrible moment of wondering whether we’d actually make it to the next charger.

So, if you’re currently Googling “Can I take my EV to France?” while staring nervously at your car and wondering whether you’re brave enough to do it, I’d say this:

Take the EV.

Prepare your apps before you travel, keep an eye on your range and give yourself a little bit of flexibility around stops.

We spent far more time worrying about taking our electric car to France before the holiday than we ever did while actually driving it.

And next time?

We wouldn’t think twice.

K Elizabeth xoxox