Driving an Electric Car Abroad

There is no reason why you cannot take your electric car abroad and enjoy all of the benefits of electric motoring on the Continent.

With the summer holidays now upon us, many families are planning their holiday escapes, and getting ready to hit the open road, but some may be wondering if they can do this just as easily in an EV as in a petrol or diesel vehicle.

Much of continental Europe is well served by chargers, in fact, there are currently more than 450,000 charging points and this number is growing every day. The Netherlands have the greatest number, but France, Germany, Italy and Spain are also very well catered-for with charging found across the entire road network.

How do I charge my EV while I’m travelling?

Its just as easy to plan your journey via charging points in Europe as it is the UK, but our top tip would be to download one or two European charging point locator apps to help you plan your route.

Chargemap is one of the most popular pan-European charging apps, with more than 166,000 charging locations registered on its system.

NextCharge is another app worth downloading, with more than 200,000 charging points, and even reviews of charging points, this app covers most of western Europe.

How do I pay for my EV charging in Europe?

Handily, IONITY, a major UK network of fast-chargers is also spread across the European motorway network, and your IONITY app will work at all of them. Another main charging network, Allegro, is found across European motorway service stations, McDonalds restaurants and many major supermarket chains and it accepts payments via the Smoov app, as well as contactless payments at the charge points themselves.

What do I need to drive abroad? 

Luckily, if you are a Tusker driver, your monthly amount covers you for fully comprehensive car insurance across Europe, as well as breakdown cover, but if you don’t have a Tusker car, these are both things that you should check are in place before you travel.

You will need to have a VE103b certificate with you by law. If you are planning to go abroad with your car, then head over to our contact page to request these documents, and for a £10 fee, these will be sent to you within 14 days.

Tusker drivers have full breakdown cover across the EU – in the unlikely event that you need it, all details of how to use this service are given to you in the same pack as your VE103b, so keep it to hand in the car, just in case.

It’s a legal requirement in several EU countries, and good practice in general, to make sure you have a number of items in or on your car, including a UK sticker, first aid kit, a fire extinguisher, reflective jackets for all passengers, a warning triangle, headlamp beam reflectors and spare bulbs for your car. The RAC has a useful guide to what you need for each country: https://www.rac.co.uk/drive/travel/advice/checklist and we’d recommend checking this before each journey, as well as the gov.uk website if relevant, as requirements are updated.

It is also worth printing out a copy of your registration documents, which you can find in your drivers pack.

For more information: https://www.gov.uk/vehicle-insurance/driving-abroad