Many motorists fear switching to electric because of objectively less versatility. Between the very frequent breaks and the charging times which are always significantly longer than those of a full tank of petrol, there is increasing congestion at existing charging stations.
France now has nearly 130,000 charging stations and, on average, one station every 50 km on motorways, while the EU expects its members to provide a sufficient number of fast charging stations every 60 km on main motorways. .
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Avoid congestion
Despite these efforts, with more than a million electric cars in circulation in France, it regularly happens that service areas are saturated, mainly when going on vacation or long weekends.
Waiting for a terminal to finally become available and then plugging into it for at least 20 minutes is no fun. It is essential to develop public infrastructure, and it is in this sense that Vinci Autoroutes will install fast charging stations at certain rest areas.
Unlike service areas, rest areas have no gas stations or shops, simply a space to stop and take a breather or have a picnic. These areas are often less popular, but benefit from space for parking, so install terminals which will help relieve congestion at service stations. Excellent news for electromobility.
The holiday route above all
Vinci Autoroutes, with the French operator Electra, will equip 18 rest areas with a charging station for a total of 174 terminals delivering powers of 200 to 400 kW. Each of these stations will be equipped with solar panels.
On the A7 the areas of Bornaron and Bouterne (Drôme) are affected. On the A9, the areas of Pia and Riversaltes (Pyrénées-Orientales) will very soon be equipped, while for the A10 motorway, the areas of Saint Palais Ouest and Est (Charente-Maritime), as well as that of Cézac (Gironde), will do the same.
Before the end of the year, other stations will be put into service:
- A7: Tricastin (Vaucluse)
- A7: Orange-le-Grés (Vaucluse)
- A9: Gigean Nord (Hérault)
- A9: Loupian (Hérault)
- A9: Bages (Aude)
- A9: Bages (Aude)
- A10: La Bénate (Charente-Maritime)
- A10: Boisredon (Charente-Maritime)
- A10: Saint-Caprais (Charente-Maritime)
The Estézargues North and South areas (Gard) will still come in 2026, on the A9.
Raphaël Ventre, marketing and services director of Vinci Autoroutes, indicated that “26 other areas will soon be equipped for a total of 350 charging points, which will reinforce the 1,700 that already line our network.”
