Guillaume Dominguez // Photo credit: Jc Milhet / Hans Lucas / Hans Lucas via AFP 11:29 a.m., January 02, 2024

Electric cars continue to attract more and more motorists. After the success of electric city cars, larger cars running on electrons are finding success on the market. At a rest area on the A13, EV drivers admit that it has never been easier to get around in an electric car.

Little by little, the French car market is regaining its colours. In 2023, more than 1.7 million cars were registered in the country, a figure that is increasing, but which has not yet returned to pre-Covid performance.

The big winner of 2023 is electric cars. With almost 300,000 units sold, the electric fairy is in its best year. And while small electric cars are a big hit, sedans and other battery-powered SUVs designed to eat up the miles are also gaining in popularity.

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"It forces us to take breaks"

At a rest area on the A13 motorway, many of them are returning from their holidays in electric cars. Coffee in hand, Laetitia enjoys a first stop on the way back from vacation. Time for its brand-new electric sedan to recharge its batteries. "I've only had the car for two weeks. I'm discovering a little. I've already done 2,000 kilometres with it," she explains. "It went well," she adds, looking at her car. "It's fluid actually."

"I had to make a lot of stops obviously. Over a distance of 750 kilometres, I made about four stops. But actually, it's not so bad because it forces us to take breaks," says the driver.

Prices that vary from one to two in the areas

And for owners of certain models like Cyril, finding a charging station is no longer even a problem. "In this vehicle, there is a route planner that announces the charging stations and the occupancy rate. When you get in the car, you don't have to do anything, you just put in the destination and the vehicle takes care of everything. For example, we go to Normandy and the vehicle told us: 'Look, it's up to you to stop at this charging station and charge at least up to 56% to continue your journey'," he explains.

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But the most important advantage for him is the cost of energy. "Electricity is about three times cheaper than petrol," he said. The only downside, especially on motorways, is that fares vary greatly depending on the area. Thus, the price of charging can go from single to double depending on the type of charging station and the operator.