Islands in the Mediterranean are the perfect terrain for electromobility, one would think. Manageable distances and a mild climate create the ideal conditions for the use of electric individual mobility. So at least the theory. But the practice looks different. A self-experiment by electrive.net editor-in-chief Peter Schwierz reveals: An isolated solution is rarely a good idea.
Package vacations in the winter vacations – due to the very mild winter on Mallorca, this seemed like a pretty good idea to us. Around 20 degrees and largely sunny weather were the perfect lure. But it was not to be the tourist strongholds in the south or east, but a small hotel in Port d’Andratx in the southwest, which is considered the most beautiful harbor town on the island. Quickly it was clear: To explore Mallorca from there, a rental car is needed. If possible, of course, an electrical.
Electric cars on Mallorca
A brief investigation quickly reveals that electric mobility is no longer a foreign concept on Germany’s favorite island. The car rental companies are already equipped with vehicles, a dedicated funding project is coordinating developments, and there are even six well-placed multi-standard fast chargers from Endesa on site. So we checked with Sixt, the rental company we trust, and discovered both the BMW i3 and the Nissan Leaf on their booking platform. The booking of an i3 did not work out, but the booking of the Leaf did. A little further research suggested that the fast chargers on the island appear to be for members of Endesa’s ECAR club only. There is another way, we thought. After all, what’s the point of roaming or using an earthed socket in an emergency?? In Germany you get as an electric car somehow always electricity. An overly naive approach, as it later turned out.
Search for traction current
But first things first: On Monday (we arrived already on Saturday) a spotless Nissan Leaf stands punctually at 10 o’clock before the hotel. Until Friday it is to be ours. The Sixt station nearby is taking a winter break, hence this practical pick-up and drop-off service. The driver shows me briefly the cables and the most important switches. Since I know the best-selling electric car in the world, of course, the language problem (I hardly Spanish, he hardly English) is not a big deal. The briefing is done anyway by the colleagues from the Sixt station at Palma airport – by phone. But that’s where the first problem arises: A charging card for the fast chargers on Mallorca is not on board. But the team of Sixt cares honestly, explains to me that you can charge in Palma and some other places many times for free, even without a charging card. The German iPhone apps, however, hardly show charging options on the island, even The New Motion as European mainland leader not. So the Sixt team emails me a link to a Spanish directory that actually spits out a lot of options. We are in good spirits!
There are quite a few charging points on Mallorca, especially in Palma. In smaller towns, however, there are often Schuko connections for e-bikes or wallboxes in hotel parking lots.
The week starts with 95 km range of the Nissan Leaf, the rest the driver had already used for the route from the airport to us. On the first day we only go to the beach in a neighboring town anyway. The almost 17 kilometers driven over the mountains do not bother the Leaf much. 86 km are on the display after the return. At the hotel, they are quite interested in the car, but there is no outdoor outlet or charging station in the VIP village of Port d’Andratx. Even the search for a somehow reasonable emergency solution, for example at the harbor, proves to be a flop. At the same time there are stations for the supply with shore power for all the yachts and excursion boats at every berth. But we do not let ourselves be distracted yet.
On Tuesday we go to another place on the south coast, but there is also no charging possibility during the stay. A hotel, which according to the regional directory offers its guests a Schuko socket, is barricaded. Well, then we check the fast charging station on the way to Palma the next day – even without a charging card.
Longing for fast current
But we are bitterly disappointed: The fast charging station at a gas station in Palmanova is free and offers 50 kW DC for CCS and CHAdeMO as well as 43 kW AC for Typ2, but without a charging card nothing works here. We just try the German cards, which are in the wallet anyway and also the so useful key fob from PlugSurfing. But all helps nothing. "Unauthorized user" – that’s all you can get out of the charging station’s display. So a call to the hotline of Endesa. But the quite nice employee can or will not help us. Without card no electricity. And the card is available for 39 euros as a fee for admission to the ECAR club only in the service center of Palma. No roaming, no activation from the distance as for example with RWE in Germany in emergencies possible. Also in the gas station itself can not help us. No one has a charging card for "emergencies" there. We would have expected at least that. Depressed we register still the reference to the EU promotion of the fast charger. Wasted money, we think…
Well distributed: The DC fast chargers on Mallorca are conveniently located for excursions from all corners of the island. Six stations are provided by Endesa, one is operated by ChargeNow at the yacht club of Palma.
So we go back to the freeway to Palma without fresh electricity. There is still a fast charger operated by ChargeNow (also for CCS, Chademo and Typ2) at the marina – in a prime location right on the waterfront. On the one side parks (and loads?) a BMW i3, the other side is blocked by a combustion engine. We try again with our German cards and the PlugSurfing trailer: but the station refuses access. We ask at the Real Club Nautico de Palma if someone could move the i3 and let us use the fast charger for 10 minutes. Uncomprehending faces. "Only for members of the club," it says. We are sent away.
A combustion engine has to fix it
The family is getting tired of looking for a place to charge, and would rather go on vacation. So I drop it off in front of the Palma Aquarium and drive to the not far away headquarters of Sixt at the Palma airport. They promptly let me use their in-house wallbox. Some employees come and listen to my experiences with interest. It quickly becomes clear: Here on the island, people are still experimenting with electric mobility. By the way, I learn that the BMW i3 has already been floated in before. Now the Nissan Leaf will be tried out. Why the cars do not have charging cards for the Endesa stations? The Sixt folks report an upcoming meeting with Endesa. It is not quite easy to reflect the 6-euro fee that the Spanish supplier wants per charging process in the rental system. They want to have the problem solved by the start of the peak season. I can’t wait that long, and I’ve had enough of looking for charging stations on vacation. And to have to drive from the southwest always over Palma, in order to make a longer charging stop, does not seem to me also purposeful. So it is with a heavy heart that I part with electromobility. I roll off the Sixt lot in an Opel Corsa. That guarantees unlimited mobility for the rest of the vacation. With the next attendance hopefully also an electric car creates that. To all those responsible in Mallorca and elsewhere, the moral of the story is: isolated solutions are not a good idea. Not in Germany, not in Europe, not even on the most beautiful island.
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Contactless and calibration-compliant payment at charging stations mandatory from 2023 – already implemented today by WirelaneSince 2021, Wirelane has offered the option of charging with NFC-enabled credit or debit cards or smartphones. girocards as well as smartphone wallets such as Google or Apple Pay, as envisaged by the German government in the amendment to the charging station ordinance from 2023 and already demanded by customers at the charging station today.
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