New charging service "Audi charging": e-mobile in 27 European countries

Three factors are essential for the success of electric mobility: e-cars with a long-range and the ability to recharge the high-voltage battery quickly - and uncomplicated access to a dense network of charging points. The new Audi charging service is designed to cover the last aspect and ensure that drivers of the brand can charge conveniently and safely throughout most of Europe.

The Audi charging service will be launched on 1 January 2023 in 27 countries, including Germany, and will be expanded over the year. This will provide access to around 400,000 charging points operated by more than 800 different CPOs (Charge Point Operators). These also include a good 1900 high-performance charger (HPC) from the provider Ionity, which enables fast charging with up to 350 kilowatts of power, especially along the main traffic routes.

Audi is collaborating with Volkswagen Group Charging and its Elli brand for its new charging service. The Audi e-Tron Charging Service, which was launched after the introduction of the brand's first all-electric model around four years ago, is being replaced. New customers or drivers of an Audi model who switch from the e-Tron Charging Service to the new offer can choose one of the three available tariffs.

Audi will pay the basic fee for the first year for new purchases.

The pro tariff is primarily aimed at drivers of e-models who need to charge more frequently while on the road. In Germany, it costs a monthly basic fee of 14.99 euros but offers a comparatively low price of 45 cents per kilowatt hour at AC charging stations. It is even more attractive to charge at Ionity's fast charging stations with the pro tariff. The electricity at the high-power chargers costs only 35 cents per kilowatt hour in Germany.

Anyone who buys a new all-electric Audi will be able to charge at a particularly favourable rate from the first day, as Audi will pay the basic fee for the pro tariff for one year. But even with the basic fee, the monthly amount pays for itself after only 35-kilowatt hours per month compared to the other two tariffs. That would be a single average charging process at one of the Ionity chargers.

If you only need to charge occasionally on the road, the monthly 7.99 euro plus tariff is a good choice. This offers favourable prices at AC and DC charging stations and is worthwhile if at least 48-kilowatt hours of energy are charged at a DC station per month. The basic tariff has no basic charge at all - the kilowatt prices are higher, but the tariff gives full access to the Europe-wide charging network and, as with the other tariffs, allows all the comfort functions associated with Audi charging. The basic tariff is therefore suitable for home chargers who want to charge without a fixed monthly commitment.