Electric cars are becoming increasingly popular in Scandinavian countries. This can be indicated by the fact that Crown Princess Matt-Marit, who is the wife of the Norwegian crown prince, uses a Tesla car. In turn, Charlotte von Schultz (journalist of the publication “Nu Technik”) decided to take an unusual trip to Sweden using the electric car Nissan LEAF.
Charlotte von Schultz at the "electric filling station" in the vicinity of Stockholm. The trip from Stockholm to Gothenburg, which is about 470 kilometers, was made from 22 to 24 April 2014. The purpose of the event was to test a network of electric vehicle charging stations built in Sweden.
Map of the Swedish network of charging stations. Red circles are high-speed stations, yellow ones are normal. The kingdom currently has 357 electric vehicle charging stations with 1,373 outlets, but the Swedes think that’s still not enough. In one of her articles, Charlotte von Schulz writes that in Sweden there are only 32 sites equipped with high-speed chargers, and their construction is not supported at the state level. At the same time, Norway is building hundreds of "fast" charging stations so electric car drivers can not worry about their car getting stuck somewhere with empty batteries. Estonia is also following this example.
The opening of an electric vehicle charging station near Stockholm in 2012. Taking into account additional outlets, the total number of high-speed “charges” in Sweden is 47 units. While standard “electric filling stations” to charge the battery of the car 80% will take more than six hours, high-speed will cope with this task in half an hour. It is worth noting that CCS connectors are used on 13 gas stations, and the Shademo standard is used on 34 of them. There were 3,993 electric vehicles registered in Sweden as of March 31, 2014, with an increase of as much as 24% in the number of “electric cars” since January of the same year. However, so far, the number of electric cars is 0.07% of the total number of Swedish cars.
Female taxi driver Cherstin Eberg charges his Nissan 2 times a day, with each charge taking 45 minutes. This electric taxi that runs on Evla is not the only electric taxi in Sweden. In May, a Tesla Model S taxi appeared in Gevla. But back to the heroine of our story. The journalist “Nu Teknik” started her rally in Stockholm, and completed it on the coast of the Kattegat Strait in Gothenburg, which is considered the cultural capital of Sweden. It is in the vicinity of the Lena Vestra Getaland, in the city of Trolhattan for a long time was the production of cars brand Saab. Chinese company NEWS, which recently resumed production, also relies on new technologies and produces electric versions of the good old Saab.
From Gothenburg (on the map - from the bottom left) to Stockholm (on the map - from the top right). To test the functionality of the electric vehicle charging infrastructure between Sweden’s two largest cities, Nu Technic chose the Nissan LEAF. Its power reserve is 150 kilometers although on the highway it is reduced by 50 kilometers, and the same Tesla Model S can travel as much as 500 kilometers without recharging. LEAF is the leader in electric vehicle sales in Sweden. Charlotte von Schultz says it's unlikely anyone will buy a Nissan LEAF specifically for trips between Gothenburg and Stockholm. This is a city car, optimal for short-distance travel. However, for the owners of these cars, a day trip of a hundred kilometers and going back for the same day should not be utopian. The journey began early in the morning. Pretty soon Charlotte found herself in Norsköpping, in the vicinity of which she ate a hamburger. In the next photo, Nissan is charging at a station in the vicinity of the same city, which has long been known as one of the largest industrial centers in Sweden. To save electricity throughout the trip, Charlotte had to make sure that the Nissan LEAF did not accelerate faster than 90 km / h. During his journey, the journalist met one of the Swedish drivers of Tesla Model S. Johan Serliden, who owns this burgundy car, equipped his car with a personal registration sign SOLBIL. Translated from Swedish it means “solar car”.
Johan Serliden with his Tesla Model S Johan Serliden, who lives in Linköping, is an activist of Elbil Sverige, the Swedish Association of Electric Vehicle Owners. In 2008, Johan became the first buyer of the Tesla Roadster in Sweden, according to the newspaper Svenska Dagbladet.
Serliden and Tesla Roadster Convertible – Swedish “Tesla Family”
In Tranos, Charlotte not only charged the car, but also stopped for the night. After performing the last charge before arriving in Gothenburg, Charlotte stated the fact that all the chargers she used were functioning properly. And that pleasantly surprised her. The fact is that before her trip, the journalist wrote that despite the fact that the site uppladdning.nu lists all stations for charging electric vehicles in Sweden, in fact it may be that one charger is broken, for another you need a key that can be obtained only in the afternoon, the third is in the garage, closing in the evenings. As a result, before such a long trip, you need to make several phone calls to understand everything.
Finish! Charlotte's car is located near the sculpture of Poseidon, which is one of the symbols of Gothenburg. Charlotte noted that overall, thanks to the two new "high-speed" charging stations that started after Easter, the difficulties were less than expected. However, at times during fast charging there were difficulties associated with connecting power to the car. According to the plan, the trip was allotted three days, but after leaving Stockholm on Tuesday 22 April early in the morning, Charlotte was in Gothenburg in the evening of April 24. The trip showed that it is quite possible to run on an electric city car between the two cities. But so far, such a trip is complicated by the fact that it is necessary to constantly charge low-power batteries. “Next time I’ll drive a Tesla or a train,” Charlotte concluded as she exited the car in Gothenburg.