The advantages of electric vehicles can be briefly summarized in three points: driving electric is pleasant, inexpensive and good for the environment!

Many automobile drivers perceive driving an electric vehicle as pleasant and they have an incomparably quiet operation, virtually no vibration and strong acceleration values. Maximum torque is available to electric vehicles at any time. Thus even smaller electric vehicles with low kilowatt ratings have immense acceleration.

In the future energy providers will offer different rates for charging your vehicle. When excessive energy is available you can benefit from the situation. If you have a photovoltaic system you can even drive "free-of-charge" by charging from the accumulator of your own solar energy.

You are on the road with energy obtained from regenerative sources. Thus by virtue of driving an electric vehicle you make a personal and important contribution to maintaining our environment and for the future of our planet.

Today, electric vehicles are already outstandingly suited for daily use, for example, for the daily commute to work or the trip to the supermarket. Expansion of the charging infrastructure is running at full speed. Throughout Germany there are thousands of charging points, most of them in the major metropolitan areas. By the year 2020 a nationwide public charging infrastructure will be installed.

With increasing market penetration, in the future the prices of electric vehicles will continue to drop and reach the price level of internal-combustion vehicles. In this regard the costs of servicing and maintaining electric cars will become significantly more favourable.

Thanks to major advances in battery research, batteries will not only become more powerful and lighter, they will also become cheaper and cheaper. The price per kilowatt hour will continue to drop and the ranges of electoral vehicles will become ever greater.

The German federal government offers tax incentives for the use of electric vehicles.
These are exempt from motor vehicle tax for a limited period of time:

• for first registration between 2011-05-18 and 2020-12-31 the tax exemption is 10 years

• for first registration prior to 2011-05-17 the tax exemption is 5 years.

Hybrid vehicles are excepted from this policy.

Source: https://www.zoll.de

Worldwide, overall three types of plugs are standardized by the IEC (International Electrotechnical Commission). For charging electric vehicles with alternating current. In Europe the so-called IEC Type 2 plug has been defined as the standard charging plug with which the driver can charge on 230 V, as well as on 400 V.

Starting in 2017 this will be used for all new vehicle models in Europe. This system was developed in Germany by MENNEKES.

From the time before agreement on a common plug connector there are still vehicles that are equipped with the so-called IEC Type 1 system. These are primarily vehicles from the far east or the USA.

In addition, you also encounter SCHUKO, CEE-Caravan and HPL connections that can only be used for charging on 230 V networks. Occasionally you still find CEE three-phase current plugs and socket for charging on 400 V AC. Due to the low capacity, charging on 230 V is associated with long charging times The complete charging of a 20 kWh rechargeable battery in this case takes almost six hours. It is faster to charge on 400 V AC. At a charging power of 22 kW, charging only takes 1 hour.

Charging with DC is even faster. At 500 V and 100 A charge current (50 kW) the 20 kWh rechargeable battery is full again in 20 minutes. The common standard for these connections is currently still being worked out. Consequently, different systems are still being used here, for example, the CHAde-MO system and the Combined Charging System (CCS) on the basis of the IEC type 2 plug system. The latter supports charging via alternating current, as well as fast charging via direct current, and is compatible with the current Type 2 standard system.

The range of an electric vehicle depends on several factors:

• Capacity of the drive battery
  The following always applies: The greater the battery capacity, the greater the range

• Power draw of the vehicle
  This not only involves maximum power but also the power actually required, which in turn depends on the following factors:
  
  
  • Weight of the vehicle
    Heavy vehicles require more energy than light vehicles
    
    
  • Route profile
    For ascents and trips at high speed the range is less than it is with a uniform driving style on a straight route
    
    
  • Driving style
    Strong acceleration and braking shortens the range. Anticipatory driving and normal acceleration have a positive effect on the range
    
    
  • Supplemental consumers
    Heater and air conditioner likewise consume energy which likewise reduces the range.
    Modern onboard computers calculate the remaining range with relative reliability and take the energy consumption of all units, as well as the previous driving style into consideration.

This is how the range is calculated: Rechargeable battery capacity ÷ consumption/100 km = range.
Example: A rechargeable battery capacity of 30 kWh and consumption of 15 kWh/100 km, results in a range of 200 km.

Range anxiety describes the worry that the car will run out of power during the trip, the car will come to a stop and there will be no possibility for recharging. However at the current ranges of 120 to 160 km this fear is unfounded. The charging infrastructure is constantly being extended and expanded.

Various studies have shown that in Germany per day on average a car is only driven between 40 and 60 km. In Europe 80% of the population does not drive more and 80 km a day. Only 4% of Germans drive more than 160 km a day. In addition an average vehicle is standing still approximately 23 hours a day. Thus electric vehicles can be outstandingly charged wherever they are standing.

Rather you should ask the question; where precisely do you want to go? What is your driving behaviour on a given day? 

The electric range is primarily dependent on the capacity (in kilowatt hours), the battery weight, vehicle concept (plug-in or full electric vehicle) as well as acceleration and speed. Thus for example, the Tesla S Limousine at normal vehicle load has a range of 480 km at a battery capacity of 85 kWh. The BMW i3 on average manages 160 km with 18.8 kWh. The Volkswagen e-Golf with 24.2 kWh drives 130-190 km pure electric.

The battery is the crucial component for service life of the vehicle.
At this point in time some manufacturers are giving a guarantee on their vehicle batteries of up to 8 years. These batteries can also be replaced by a new battery unless the service life of an electric vehicle can reach the service life of a gasoline powered vehicle.

You can charge wherever you park your car.
With an electric vehicle you no longer need gas stations rather you use your own private charging station or one of the many charging stations in the public sphere.
You can conveniently fully charge your car at home overnight or even at your workplace. In addition more and more public charging points and quick chargers are being set up. With a power contract from your energy provider you can then charge at these points.

Billing occurs at public charging stations via the owner or one of the roaming partners. Depending on the provider different billing methods are offered.

Possibility 1: you enter into a contract with a mobility provider, who either himself is an owner of charging stations and/or who works together with other owners in the framework of a roaming partnership. When you have received a customer card, you can authenticate yourself with this card at the charging stations and charge your vehicle.

Alternatively some operators also offer authorization via SMS.
For this you send an SMS with the number of the charging station to the operator of the charging station if your telephone number is assigned to a contract there the charging station is activated and charging can start. In both cases charging occurs via your customer account with your mobility provider.

Possibility 2: payment via prepaid card. If you have purchased such a prepaid card you can charge at any charging station that accepts this card within the framework of the available credit.

Together with the companies, Powercloud and RhineEnergy we have founded Chargecloud GmbH, which removes the hindrance of activation and payment of a charging station. With the "Chargecloud" product we offer a secure, cloud-based software solution for operation of networked charging infrastructure and billing of charging processes. In this case payment is made simply via a cloud on the Internet Thus we are working on the situation that soon throughout Germany everyone can fuel at virtually all charging stations.

Basically charging stations can be set up anywhere, as long as the provisions of the Charging Column Ordinance issued by the Federal Ministry for energy and economy (BMWi) are complied with. The ordinance regulates the technical minimum requirements imposed on set-up and operation of publicly accessible charging points for electric vehicles.

Charging stations in the public sphere are only allowed to be set up and operated by approved network operators. In the semi-public area (e.g. privately operated car parks and parking lots) and in the private sphere, charging stations can be set up by the building owners. Tenants must obtain the consent of the owner before setting up a charging station.

Weather influences and environmental influences, as well as vandalism risks must be taken into account in selecting the set-up location. Consequently, the set-up location should be selected in such a manner that the flow of traffic is not impaired through use of the charging station, and the installation should occur on a solid foundation.

Fundamentally energy can be injected from the vehicle back into the power grid. The prerequisite in this regard is that the charging technology of the vehicle, as well as the charging infrastructure, must support this function.

In this regard there is also a huge opportunity for energy policy, particularly in conjunction with effective use of regenerative energy. Thus electric vehicles can serve as buffer accumulators for regenerative energy and compensate for load peaks in the power grid through injection from electric vehicles.
Today these load peaks are still compensated through nuclear power plants or power plants that are operated with fossil fuels. With an appropriately expanded charging infrastructure and large distribution of vehicles, the energy injection from electric vehicles would be significantly more environmentally-friendly for compensation of load peaks.

Through appropriate programming of the onboard electronics and user specifications, it is insured that the vehicle always remains sufficiently charged. Currently work is still underway on implementation models and tests in pilot projects.

Special approval is not required for the erection of charging stations in or on your own building.
However special regulations apply for underground car parks, such as the fire protection regulations of the respective federal state. A charging column on your own property with public access must be agreed with the responsible approval authorities. A legal clarification occurs via the building permit procedure.

The power costs per 100 km are significantly cheaper as compared to gasoline powered vehicles.

For example, an electric vehicle consumes 15 kWh power on 100 km. At a power price of 25 ct/kilowatt hour the energy costs are €4.00.
For a combustion engine with a consumption of 6.5 l/100 km Super and a litre price of €1.35, the energy costs are €8.10 – thus more than twice the amount.

Depending on the capacity of your car (compare Tesla) the battery of your vehicle recharges up to 80% in 30 minutes, and thus depending on your model, you have a range from 350 km to 380 km.

The following always applies: the auto charges while you are sleeping, working or shopping. Consequently it is really not so relevant how long a charging process lasts.

But rather what is relevant is how many kilometres you drive per day, maximum, and whether you can manage this distance in the morning with a full battery. For long distances, in the future there will be quick-chargers on the motorways.

Basically yes, however normal household electricity outlets or their supply lines, as a rule, are not configured for such a continuous load. Therefore loading on a normal household socket should only occur in an emergency.

For normal charging at home we expressly recommend charging with charging column or wall charging station, i.e. Wallbox that has been especially developed for this purpose. These are available with different charging capacities.

We recommend a charging solution with sufficient charging capacity reserves. Thus you will be equipped for the future and can more quickly, and above all safely, charge your vehicle.

Electric vehicles can even be safely charged in rainfall.

No. You can charge your electric vehicle in accordance with your power requirement, and you can also interrupt this process at any time.

Via Internet sites, such as chargemap.com and smarttanken.de, you can find and also enter charging stations directly in your vicinity.

If parking spaces are marked with a no stopping sign for charging of electric vehicles at these spaces only, then only electric vehicles can be parked on these spaces for charging.
Naturally, it would also be nice without such a no stopping sign, if these parking spaces would remain free for electric vehicles.

Whether you can see the charged amount of electricity when charging depends on the respective charging system. As a rule the power is totaled on the meter of the charging column.
In an app appropriate for the charging system you can view the power per charging process.

Interruption of a charging process is no problem. The charging process can be resumed at any time.

The charging process can always be ended in the vehicle. Some systems can also be stopped through an app or by holding the RFID card that is used for authorization, in front of the column again.

Vehicles and charging stations are in both cases upward compatible, as well as downward compatible. The charging station communicates to the vehicle the maximum power, but the vehicle can also take less than this power.

The power flow is ended through an integrated charging management system automatically after full charge.

As a rule a lasting power connection after the complete charge, results in no cost or damage whatsever.
In the future, the existing connection will even be usable for example to preheat the auto in winter, without drawing power from the rechargeable battery of the vehicle. In this case, costs would be incurred.