Is it true that it’s more complicated to travel by electric car?

No, going on holiday in an electric car is no longer a challenge. The ranges achievable in modern electric vehicles make this kind of trip much easier. You can now travel 400 to 600 kilometres on one battery charge. That’s easily enough to drive from Bern to Ascona or from Zurich to St. Moritz, for example, without having to stop once at a charging station.

There’s now a wide range of electric cars available, including many spacious family vehicles that give you an exceptionally comfortable ride. Electric cars generally provide plenty of space for passengers and luggage, as the electric motor is relatively small. In addition to a large boot, they often also have a second luggage compartment (“frunk”) at the front end.

However, waiting times at charging stations can sometimes annoy electric vehicle drivers. Although Switzerland has an extensive network of public charging stations, there is still a lack of private charging facilities. “Some 57% of people in our country live in rented accommodation,” says Krispin Romang, Managing Director of the industry association Swiss eMobility. “Not all apartment building owners are prepared to install a wallbox in the underground garage.” That’s why expansion of the network of public charging stations is all the more important.

Lots of new charging stations

We are now making a major contribution to this expansion – we already provide more charging stations for electric vehicles than any other Swiss retailer. Our subsidiary Migrol operates all charging stations at Migros locations and is strongly pushing ahead with the expansion of this network. There are currently 300 M-Charge charging stations available at around 200 Migros stores throughout Switzerland plus a further 30 charging stations at Migrol filling stations. Over 2,000 charging points are now set to be added to the M-Charge network over the next few years.

Various payment methods are accepted – Migrolcard, credit cards, debit cards and Twint. All locations are equipped with high-performance DC charging stations. Modern electric cars can be charged from 20% to 80% in half an hour at these stations. Customers can use this time fill their shopping bags in the supermarket and return to find an equally full battery afterwards.

More information at migrol.ch/m-charge