Have no fear about renting an electric car: the charging network is dense and the range does the job. Good news on payment: since a law of July 2023, all new fast chargers (from 50 kW, that is to say in practice all of them, often 150 kW or more) must be fitted with a bank-card terminal. So you pay simply by presenting your card, without installing any app. Contactless works everywhere, and when contactless plays up, inserting the chip does the job. All the major fuel-station chains now have fast chargers with a terminal.
Check the charging connector before choosing the car
Not all electric cars charge at the same speed, and it mainly comes down to their fast-charging connector. This is worth checking before you book, especially through peer-to-peer rental where you can end up with an older model.
In Europe, and therefore in Norway, the current standard for fast charging is CCS (Combo 2), a connector derived from Type 2 with two extra pins for direct current. On recent models you often get 10 to 80% in thirty to forty minutes, and CCS chargers are now everywhere. Teslas also use CCS in Europe.
Be wary, on the other hand, of older models fitted with the CHAdeMO connector, such as the early Nissan Leaf. Their range is often limited, fast charging is slower and can throttle when the battery heats up, and above all CHAdeMO chargers are becoming rarer in Norway. A long trip quickly becomes a chore: I have rented several electric cars, including a Nissan Leaf that I had to charge three times to cover 200 km. With Getaround, where you rent the car from a private owner, check the model and its connector before booking to avoid an old Leaf on CHAdeMO.
Rental agencies generally offer recent vehicles with CCS, with quoted ranges of 400 to 600 km (a little less in real conditions, especially in cold weather).
For slow charging, it is the Type 2 connector (alternating current) that is used, and it fits practically every electric car. It is the home charging method: if you rent a cabin or a house, there is a good chance it has a Type 2 socket for charging quietly overnight. That is how I charged both an old Leaf and a VW ID at the cabin without any trouble. So check that the car's Type 2 cable comes with the vehicle: the fast chargers along the road have their cable attached, but the sockets at home do not.
| Fast charging | Speed | Availability | Cars |
|---|---|---|---|
| CCS (Combo 2) | 10 to 80% in ~30 to 40 min | Very widespread, everywhere | Recent models (Tesla, VW ID, Polestar…) |
| CHAdeMO | Slower, throttling possible | Increasingly rare | Older models (Nissan Leaf) |
If you prefer an app, the main ones are Kople (formerly Fortum Charge & Drive), Elton (which bundles several networks) and the Uno-X app, all with a charger map.
For long trips, install ABRP (A Better Route Planner). You enter your destination and car model, and the app works out the charging stops you need to arrive with peace of mind. The ideal companion for a road trip to the fjords or the north.