Tesla Expands European EV Fast-Charging Network

LONDON – Tesla passes the 1,000-installations mark for its European Destination Charging program less than a year after launch.

The electric-vehicle maker says it designed the charging network to give Tesla customers access to its wall-connector chargers when away from home and to offset range anxiety.

Tesla says customers traveling long distances can use Supercharger fast-charge stations to recharge its vehicles in minutes rather than hours. There now are more than 270 Supercharger stations with 1,800 individual Superchargers covering major highway routes across Europe.

Now its Destination Charging program augments the Supercharger stations by providing standard wall-charging points placed in partnerships with organizations including hotels, resorts and restaurants.

In a statement, Tesla says, “Destination Chargers add up to 60 miles (100 km) of range per hour, enough time for owners to ski or shop while their vehicles recharge.”

In the U.K., Tesla claims it has installed more than 100 Destination Chargers at shopping malls, resorts, marinas, an opera venue and a popular theme park from Inverness in Scotland to St Ives in Cornwall in Southern England.

The EV maker insists its European network will grow at an exponential rate in the coming months, adding hundreds more charging sites throughout Europe.