Can anyone direct me to up to date information (maybe a link) about this? I have a maison secondaire in Départment 49 and in normal times (remember them?) I spend up to eight months in France. I am contemplating buying an MG5 EV (in the UK). But there appear to be major problems with the public EV charging network in France. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
I’m sorry that I can’t answer your question, but I do have some possibly helpful information.
I know someone who bought an MG5 in the UK in 2020 and tried to import it to France. It was refused as the Certificate of Conformity or Type Approval number was not recognised. They ended up selling it in the UK and lost quite a bit on the deal…
Edited to add:
I see that MG now have a distributor in France - but only featuring the ZS and EHS models…
Bear in mind that if you import, you will get charged duty, TVA, immatriculation charge etc when you import.
All I know if that there is one at the local Lidl…
1 Like
The public charging infrastructure here in Brittany is exemplary - the last time I traveled (which was sometime ago for obvious reasons) it put the UK to shame - here there are public charging points in every village of any significant size, and lots in larger towns.
For example our village has less then a thousand inhabitants, and 2 charging places.
There were also - last time I checked - good state subsidies for home and business premises charging points (which probably explains those at Lidls, etc)
I’ll second Geof’s comment but for Normandie. Every village of any size at all has at least one charging point in its public car park and our local Lidl has 2. I don’t think I’ve ever seen one in the UK but I know of one motorway service station there with several…
Could you elaborate on this? I’ve not noticed anything so it’s a bit worrying to hear that.
Search for the app for. Hargeing points in France from what i can see there are plenty, my tom tom is for ever updating the numbers of charging points
Sorry charging points
I recommend you look at ChargeMap or A better route planner and explore for yourself. Yes there are lots of charging points but many are still 1st generation 3, 7, and 18kw versions. Of course there are 22kw and some 50kw stations (2nd generation) but far fewer fast charging stations. There maybe less stations in the UK but they are fast catching up with 2nd and 3rd generation fast chargers.
Look for yourself on the apps mentioned.
I’m not even thinking about an EV yet, but interested in the economics. I’ve just had a quick look (not much price/kwh out there easy to find) but I did see that itx 79 cents/kwh on autoroutes- thats over 4 times the domestic cost!
Much as we’re ripped off for petrol and diesel on autoroutes too.
2 Likes
And free at Lidl?? Which I don’t understand.
Chargemap is a good place to plan a longer route. As for charging during your stay you may well find that overnight home charging suits you a lot of time, even at 2,3kW (the lowest possible rate).
P.S. I see that the MG5 EV has a CCS connector. That’s great for use on a CCS rapid charger (as you would find on a motorway or in bigger towns & shoppping centres) but it appears to only accept a 7kW charge rate via the Type 2 connecter part of the CCS (i.e. it’s only got a single phase on board charger). This means that the widely available Type 2 charge points outside rural Mairies etc. (that have already been mentioned by others) are still relatively slow. The same charge points can deliver 22kW if you have a vehicle with a three phase on board charger (like a Renault Zoe) i.e. quite quick. This is especially relevant with charge points that bill you by time as opposed to kWh.
To be fair that was my first thought too John. You may not pay three times as much for petrol or diesel, but given how much they do overcharge because they know they can, I’d expect nothing less. I guess the difference is that most of us who are so tight we squeak when we walk can attempt to leave the autoroute and find a cheaper option if the situation isn’t desperate, whereas until the time every fuel station, town, village, Aire and whatever else has EV charging, it may be the only option to use.
It annoys me that the reason for taking the autoroute is speed and then to have to loose the advantage (and in effect waste the toll) by leaving to get fuel at a reasonable cost. I shudder to think how much I’ve wasted over the last twenty years by just filling up on the autoroute and not bothering to look at the price. Nowadays I always fill up at the Carrefour near our motorway entrance and that gives me 500km at least.
BTW, they overcharge at the McDos on the autoroute too 
1 Like
I think their greed will be short lived, unlike fossil fuels that come from the middle east electricity can be produced locally (hurray) also if governments have signed up to eu agreements then they should set a ceiling on the price, after all its not transported by tanker which is a poor excuse used over the years.
If you have a station people will sit around and buy more food and drink whilst they charge compared to splash and dash fossils
2 Likes
Just to be clear, A Better Route Planner ABRP, is an app not a comment. It is really helpful for planning as you enter the make and model and they have mileage data base so plan recommended charging stops.
When I go and see my parents in Germany I fill up at my cheapy local garage here in sw Dordogne then my next fill-up is 1200 km or so later, in Germany where it is much cheaper as well.
What on earth are you driving?
A petrol tanker? 
1 Like