Tesla opens first V4 Supercharger in the UK – with display and credit card terminal
In London, the first Tesla Superchargers are now available for all EVs and with the possibility to pay by credit card. Something that will be required of all public chargers in the EU from 2024.
The fourth-generation (V4) Superchargers at the Tesla Centre in the London borough of Tottenham have a small display that can be used to make contactless payments by simply holding a credit card to it. The electric car association EVA England tested the charger with a Kia and documented their experience in a video clip.
In the video, a first-generation Kia e-Niro is charged via CCS. The procedure is straightforward: The EVA representative connects the cable to the charging port of his car, holds a card in front of the reader, and the charging process begins. Tesla apparently reserves 20 pounds as a deposit on the card. After the charging process is completed, the difference is reimbursed or booked.
Until now, charging EVs of other brands at Superchargers was more cumbersome, as it was only possible via the Tesla smartphone app. The charging point had to be selected in the app, and the charging process started manually – but this required a Tesla account with a stored payment method. With the new card option, charging is also possible without registration. Using the Tesla app to start the charging process will still be possible, but it is no longer necessary. And Tesla EVs can plug in, and the charging process will begin automatically.
⚡️We were invited to test out the the first UK V4 Tesla Supercharger station, which has just been unveiled in Tottenham, at the Tesla Centre on Ravenside Retail Park, this morning!
It is available to all EVs with a CCS connection, so James took his Kia for a boost (although his… pic.twitter.com/nwwAohFqSR
— EVA England (@EVAEOfficial) August 25, 2023
In March, Tesla opened the world’s first location with V4 pillars in Harderwijk, the Netherlands, and opened the site to other brands a month later. However, this version did not yet have a display or the option to pay by card. This function was only discovered later on exhibits (for example at the Goodwood Festival of Speed) and was now installed for the first time in Tottenham.
Since the premiere in Harderwijk, further V4 sites have been built, for example in Graz and at the Giga Berlin in Grünheide, although the latter site is not yet in operation. In England, at the northern car park of the Swindon Designer Outlet, 16 V4 charging points are also planned – it is known from the planning documents there that the V4 generation is designed for up to 350 kW.
With the display and card terminal, Tesla is creating the basis for continuing to build new fast chargers in Europe. The possibility to pay ad hoc per credit card at a public charging station is required by law in the EU from 2024.
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