V4 Supercharger -UK

The first V4 Tesla Supercharger station has opened in the UK​

‘Future-proofed’ charging hubs bring 250kW power… even for non-Tesla electric cars and comes with a PayPad so non Tesla don’t have to use the app and longer cables.

The first V4 Tesla Supercharger station has opened in the UK

‘Future-proofed’ charging hubs bring 250kW power… even for non-Tesla electric cars

www.topgear.com

 

[kelvin 660]

I'm wondering how much money Tesla are getting from our government to open up their charging network? Oh well, as long as Tesla keep expanding the charging network we will all benefit...

 

[Jason71]

I'm wondering how much money Tesla are getting from our government to open up their charging network? Oh well, as long as Tesla keep expanding the charging network we will all benefit...

Carrot or stick? They could easily be locked out of further prime sites like motorway services due to not being a public network.

 

[ACarneiro]

Carrot or stick? They could easily be locked out of further prime sites like motorway services due to not being a public network.

I believe that’s what happened in Portugal. “Open up or else”.
But it’s such a small (and poor) country that Tesla just shrugged their shoulders and stopped building Superchargers.

 

[GeorgeSymonds]

I’m presuming these are still 400v which will limit a number of cars as the industry seems to be going to 800v for charge speeds over 200kw.

Still welcome to have them, but just not quite as good as the headline in the same way the 350kw chargers only charge at a max 175kw on 400v cars

 

[SR-Plus]

I wonder how many Tesla owners will move to a different car brand knowing they still have access to Tesla’s number 1 USP.

 

[Canonicals]

I'm super excited about this! And personally like the design.

I made a brief 3 minute video for anyone interested which shares a bit about the design, where the first V4 will be etc

 

[UkNorthampton]

I wonder how many Tesla owners will move to a different car brand knowing they still have access to Tesla’s number 1 USP.

They should look at Tesla supercharger maps with Tesla only and non Tesla sites options. Quite the difference last time I looked at UK. Varies by country.

 

[qwickshot]

I wonder how many Tesla owners will move to a different car brand knowing they still have access to Tesla’s number 1 USP.

They’d have moved anyway, non-tesla charging is getting more plentiful, expanding faster and can be faster than tesla.

There are 6 big networks in the U.K., Tesla is one of them and the USP is being eroded away and tesla know it. It just is what it is at the end of the day.

 

[Sean.]

I wonder how many Tesla owners will move to a different car brand knowing they still have access to Tesla’s number 1 USP.

Six years ago when I first got a Tesla was the only realistic 200+ mile range BEV.

Now days….yeah we all know the answer for the cars. Tesla has lost a lot all that USP.

Now to charging, whilst the Supercharger network is excellent in many respects, like the cars there are healthy alternatives available, especially in the last 12 to 18 months a real push on noted with other high speed charging networks expanding rapidly.

There’s more to BEV car and public charging life than Tesla.

 

[spdpsba]

I wonder how many Tesla owners will move to a different car brand knowing they still have access to Tesla’s number 1 USP.

And blocking 2 chargers till Tesla updates the chargers . Unfortunately the problems are created by legacy automakers as they want to maintain their USP. It is not hard to create the charging port at the same place as Tesla. Remember the issue in America with the NACS now everyone is towing the Tesla line as they know they can’t compete with Teslas SC network. The German car manufacturers have more money so they will wage this war a little longer creating chaos among buyers. Tesla can only update what is possible within their reach and they can’t resist opening up the network as all the governments will single out and stop any concessions offered.

I was furious at Folkstone when out of the 8 stalls or 10 at the SCs most of them were BMWs and few model S. All the BMWs taking 2 charging spots.

 

[MrBadger]

Unfortunately the problems are created by legacy automakers as they want to maintain their USP

What a load of bollox. There is no standard and it’s up to manufacturers to put connectors where they see fit. If you want to keep with your argument you could say it is Teslas fault for not putting the charge port in the same place as legacy EV makers.

It’s good that Tesla are opening up their charge network, but blaming poor charge cable ergonomics (other charge providers don’t seem to have these issues) on other car manufacturers not copying Tesla due to wanting to maintain USP is farcical.

 

[djtaylor]

From my experience yesterday, it's not even the charge point location that's the issue, with two drivers of a Mini and an Audi parked in Tesla bays but not plugged in.

 

[Pants]

It is not hard to create the charging port at the same place as Tesla.

Or Tesla could conform to a different standard, in the same way they have been forced to adopt CCS in Europe. The entire EV world doesn’t have to conform to Tesla.

 

[spdpsba]

What a load of bollox. There is no standard and it’s up to manufacturers to put connectors where they see fit. If you want to keep with your argument you could say it is Teslas fault for not putting the charge port in the same place as legacy EV makers.

It’s good that Tesla are opening up their charge network, but blaming poor charge cable ergonomics (other charge providers don’t seem to have these issues) on other car manufacturers not copying Tesla due to wanting to maintain USP is farcical.

Whatever suits you man

 

[spdpsba]

Teslas fault for not putting the charge port in the same place as legacy EV makers.

And when did your BMWs and Audis started making EVs? I guess in early 2022 - that’s being sarcastic and don’t give the yearly data of when they started making EVs. And forget about the car called bmw i3 which clearly pointed out their weakness and their not so much of faith in EVs.

 

[Hurricane]

I hope Tesla’s statement that the V4 is “future proof” is true because 250KW isn’t cutting edge these days.

Not that it’s relevant to me at the moment as my M3 can’t utilise higher charging speeds. But it might be relevant in the future when I get my next (non Tesla) car and still want to use the SuC network.

 

[UkNorthampton]

I hope Tesla’s statement that the V4 is “future proof” is true because 250KW isn’t cutting edge these days.

Not that it’s relevant to me at the moment as my M3 can’t utilise higher charging speeds. But it might be relevant in the future when I get my next (non Tesla) car and still want to use the SuC network.

Your Model 3 is one of the faster charging cars around in terms of miles added over time. Efficiency is important & Tesla do well at this.

There's talk of 615 Amps & 1000 Volts eventually for V4 Superchargers (cabinets would need upgrading such articles usually say). Teslas will probably continue to do better as Tesla Superchargers will know how to work best with Tesla cars. It isn't just peak charging, it's also the area under the graph (total charging) & the effect on longevity of batteries.

Most non-Teslas will continue to be hampered by ICE mentality of key managers/staff & poor execution from empire-building/siloed managers. I wouldn't trust non-Tesla OEMs to do as well as Tesla.

 

[MrBadger]

Teslas will probably continue to do better as Tesla Superchargers will know how to work best with Tesla cars. It isn't just peak charging, it's also the area under the graph (total charging) & the effect on longevity of batteries.

Sounds like FUD to me. Isn’t the charge rate dictated by the car? So long as the power source can supply the required power, the car will control what of that it needs.

 

[UkNorthampton]

Sounds like FUD to me. Isn’t the charge rate dictated by the car? So long as the power source can supply the required power, the car will control what of that it needs.

If a 15 year old IPace or Lucid requests too much power, a responsible charging company will err on the side of caution and restrict power. Especially if the vehicle is incapable of over-the air software updates. The last aspect might become more important as car manufacturers go out of business or fail to update software in light of charging experience.

At some point a manufacturer will push their cars beyond sensible limits in order to have a selling point. Marketers will overrule engineers. Charging companies will have to play it safe.

Depends how clever the charger software is and how much you trust the car, Tesla can adapt software faster than most (all) charging companies. Fastned & others can recognise the car model from the charging graph/profile. The car requests voltage/current - the charger can choose to limit - either due to power limitations or as a precaution if the vehicle has proved problematic generally or under specific circumstances (temperature extremes).

Tesla have the most info on their own cars and can update car BMS/software related to charging. They know the battery chemistry for each car, so older Tesla models may be limited (by car software). For other makes, they may choose to be cautious and limit at the charger.