The Charge Point Radar

Your week in European EV charging in under 15 minutes, produced by FLEXECHARGE.
It’s Halloween week on The Charge Point Radar. E.ON Drive grew in 11 countries in a single quarter, and Germany plans a new motorway charging tender for 2027. Milence opens Temse, starts building in Braunschweig and launches plug-and-go truck charging. We also cover Electra’s €70M plan for Catalonia, Powerdot’s repair centre for chargers, Finland’s first public megawatt charging session, and app and loyalty news from EnBW, InstaVolt and Octopus. Plus Elli’s V2G bonus, the UK’s driveway divide, police arrests over cable theft, a bp pulse handover, and climate targets revised downwards in Brussels and London.
Don’t miss our webinar
The 2027 BeNeLux grid playbook: new DSO rules for charging sites
Live on 3 November 2026 at 11:00 CET, with Robert Brehm, co-founder and CTO of FLEXECHARGE.
Register: https://www.flexecharge.com/resources/webinars/the-benelux-grid-playbook?utm_source=chargepointradar&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=benelux-grid-playbook&utm_content=2026-10-26
Chapters
0:00 Intro: the spooky edition
0:48 E.ON Drive grows in 11 countries in one quarter
1:50 Germany’s new motorway tender, and Eliso’s build-out
2:51 Milence: Temse, Braunschweig and Seamless Charging
3:40 Osprey Go: Autocharge for cars
4:00 Fastned adds truck lanes at Kloosters
4:21 Plugit: Finland’s first public MCS session
4:42 Electra’s €70M plan for Catalonia
5:33 Powerdot opens a hospital for chargers
6:20 Apps and loyalty: EnBW, InstaVolt and Octopus
7:21 Elli’s V2G bonus
8:09 UK: the driveway divide
8:58 GRIDSERVE: arrests over cable theft
9:20 The bp tally: a bp pulse handover
9:43 Policy: EU and UK targets revised downwards
11:03 Quick hits
11:44 What it means for operators
12:31 Events, including our BeNeLux webinar
13:54 Sign-off
Events (26 October to 22 November 2026)
27 to 28 Oct: Fleet Europe Days, Lisbon
3 Nov, 11:00 CET: FLEXECHARGE webinar, The 2027 BeNeLux grid playbook (online). Register here
10 to 12 Nov: Enlit Europe, Vienna
11 to 12 Nov: NextTruck 2026, Berlin
18 to 19 Nov: London EV Show 2026, London
Sources
E.ON Drive Q3 recap
https://www.linkedin.com/company/eon-drive-infrastructure/posts/
Germany’s motorway tender (Bilger)
https://www.electrive.net/2026/10/22/bilger-neue-ladepunkte-autobahn/
Eliso: almost 400 fast-charging points in Germany
https://www.electrive.net/2026/10/23/eliso-400-hpc-deutschland/
Milence: Temse, Seamless Charging, Braunschweig
https://www.linkedin.com/company/milence1/posts/
https://www.electrive.com/2026/10/24/milence-opens-truck-charging-hub-with-four-mcs-chargers-in-belgium/
Osprey Go and Autocharge
https://www.linkedin.com/company/ospreycharging/posts/
Fastned truck lanes at Kloosters
https://www.linkedin.com/company/fastned/posts/
Plugit and Volvo: Finland’s first public MCS session
https://evnews.ai/news/plugit-and-volvo-demonstrate-megawatt-charging-system-in-finland
Electra’s Catalonia plan
https://www.linkedin.com/company/electra-charge/posts/
Powerdot Repair Center
https://www.linkedin.com/company/power-dot/posts/
EnBW mobility+ wins Stiftung Warentest
https://www.linkedin.com/company/enbw/posts/
InstaVolt Volts to Virgin Points
https://www.linkedin.com/company/instavolt/posts/
Octopus FleetBoost
https://evnews.ai/news/octopus-offers-discounted-charging-through-fleetboost-2
Elli V2G plug-in bonus
https://www.linkedin.com/company/elli-vw/posts/
England’s cross-pavement charging rules
https://www.electrive.com/2026/10/21/rule-changes-make-it-much-easier-to-install-cross-pavement-ev-chargers-in-england/
Renault UK calls for a VAT cut on public charging
https://evnews.ai/news/renault-boss-calls-on-labour-to-slash-vat-on-public-chargers-to-help-drivers-make-ev-switch
GRIDSERVE: cable theft arrests
https://www.linkedin.com/company/gridserve/posts/
bp pulse fleet customers move to Fuuse and Drax
https://www.fleetnews.co.uk/news/partnership-to-migrate-former-bp-pulse-fleet-customers
EU car package committee votes
https://www.electrive.net/2026/10/23/auto-paket-eu-ausschuesse-votieren-fuer-lockerung-der-co2-regeln/
UK ZEV mandate
https://electrive.com/2026/10/19/uk-government-to-ease-ev-sales-mandate-but-only-slightly
Allego and the ADAC survey
https://www.linkedin.com/company/allego/posts/
Europe vs US fast charging (Chargalytics)
https://www.chargalytics.com/deep-dives/europe-vs-us-fast-charging-2026/
This Week in Charging (Chargalytics)
https://www.chargalytics.com/insights/this-week-in-charging-2026-10-23/

Your week in European EV charging in under 15 minutes, produced by FLEXECHARGE.
This week: Fastned opens its books, Allego tries cashback, and E.ON Drive starts charging Danish drivers at the hourly spot price. Mercedes and Renault both push vehicle-to-grid, Amazon books megawatt truck charging with Aral pulse, Switzerland's truck subsidy runs dry in nine months, and Spain tenders motorway charging while its installation pace slows. Plus our takeaways for charge point operators.
Chapters
0:00 Intro
0:30 Fastned's third quarter
1:23 Allego's cashback
2:08 E.ON Drive: charging at the spot price
2:53 Mercedes pays you to plug in
3:33 Renault and EDF go bidirectional, plus Powerdot
4:17 Aral pulse and Amazon
4:54 Switzerland's truck subsidy
5:27 Fraunhofer: share the chargers
5:57 Q-Park becomes an operator
6:32 Network roundup: IONITY, Recharge, Milence, GRIDSERVE
7:16 Spain: Iberdrola grows, the market slows
7:48 Spain tenders motorway charging
8:29 Policy: the Franco-German car package
8:58 Quick hits
9:45 What it means for operators
10:31 Events
10:56 Sign-off

Sources
Fastned Q3 results
https://www.electrive.com/2026/10/16/fastned-increases-charging-revenue-and-accelerates-network-expansion/
Allego cashback
https://www.electrive.net/2026/10/15/allego-cashback-deutschlan-frankreich/
E.ON Drive City Spot and 10,000 charging points
https://www.linkedin.com/company/eon-drive-infrastructure/posts/
Mercedes-Benz V2G package
https://www.electrive.com/2026/10/13/mercedes-benz-introduces-v2g-package-for-private-customers/
Renault and EDF bidirectional offer
https://www.electrive.com/2026/10/12/renault-and-edf-unveil-bidirectional-charging-offering/
Powerdot and Renault Group
https://www.linkedin.com/company/power-dot/posts/
Aral pulse and Amazon
https://www.electrive.net/2026/10/17/automatischer-entwurf-4/
Swiss truck charging subsidy
https://www.electrive.com/2026/10/14/switzerland-doubles-funding-budget-for-commercial-truck-chargers/
Fraunhofer on shared truck charging
https://www.electrive.com/2026/10/15/share-charging-to-cut-costs-fraunhofer-tells-electric-truck-fleets/
Q-Park and Greenflux
https://www.electrive.com/2026/10/15/q-park-expands-collaboration-with-software-provider-greenflux/
Network roundup
IONITY: https://www.linkedin.com/company/ionity/posts/
Recharge: https://www.linkedin.com/company/rechargeinfra/posts/
Milence: https://www.linkedin.com/company/milence1/posts/
GRIDSERVE: https://www.linkedin.com/company/gridserve/posts/
Iberdrola and Spain's installation figures
https://www.motor16.com/comerciales/puntos-recarga-flotas-iberdrola
https://www.elindependiente.com/economia/2026/10/16/iberdrola-lidera-la-red-de-recarga-electrica-que-ampliara-hasta-los-100-000-puntos-antes-de-fin-de-ano/
Spain's motorway charging tender
https://www.energias-renovables.com/movilidad/el-gobierno-autoriza-licitar-ocho--reas-20261013
Franco-German car package
https://www.electrive.net/2026/10/16/auto-paket-was-frankreich-und-deutschland-bei-den-co2-zielen-vorschlagen/
Quick hits
VW battery recall: https://www.electrive.com/2026/10/16/vw-prepares-battery-recall-for-multiple-id-models-in-europe/
Mercedes-AMG electric GT SUV: https://electrek.co/
Plug-in hybrid CO2 study: https://www.electrive.com/2026/10/16/plug-in-hybrids-emit-six-times-more-co2-than-officially-stated/
Eranovum crowdfunding
https://www.mobilityportal.eu/en/notes/la-espanola-eranovum-activa-una-nueva-via-para-acelerar-su-red-usd-2-18-millones-sobre-249-cargadores
Coming up in the next four weeks
21 Oct: electrive LIVE #57, electric mobility in fleets (online)
22 Oct: IONITY open evening during Munich Climate Week (IONITY HQ, Munich)
27 to 28 Oct: Fleet Europe Days (Lisbon)
10 to 12 Nov: Enlit Europe (Vienna)
10 to 12 Nov: NextTruck 2026 (Berlin)

The Charge Point Radar, episode of Monday 12 October 2026

Your week in European EV charging, in under twenty minutes. This AI-powered podcast is produced by FLEXECHARGE.

IN THIS EPISODE
- A Munich court reads AFIR's non-discrimination clause and turns a roaming markup into damages (EWE Go vs. Digital Charging Solutions). The ruling is not final.
- ChargeGuru and Zeplug complete their merger under the new brand Tohmo.
- bp pulse's Dutch fast-charging network goes to E.ON Drive, under the Essent brand.
- Megawatt truck charging arrives in France (Vierzon), Germany (Thuringia) and Spain (Ourense).
- Operator news from IONITY, EnBW, Powerdot, Zunder, Eranovum and others.
- Spain's almost 18,000 unusable chargers, and why the bottleneck is grid connections and maintenance.
- Policy: France and Germany push for a weaker 2035 CO₂ target, while battery-electric cars take 41.6% of new registrations in France.
- Data corner: the average fast-charging session lasts 27 minutes at about 60 kW, and the electrified fleet grew faster than the public network for the first time.

EVENTS IN THE NEXT FOUR WEEKS
- 12–18 Oct: Paris Motor Show, Paris
- 13–14 Oct: eMove360° Europe, Munich
- 20–21 Oct: 2nd Battery Production Days, Aachen
- 21–22 Oct: The Automotive Battery, Munich
- 27–28 Oct: Fleet Europe Days, Lisbon
- 2–3 Nov: Li-ion Battery Europe, Barcelona

SOURCES
- electrive: landmark ruling on EWE Go and DCS https://www.electrive.com/2026/10/07/landmark-ruling-ewe-go-must-offer-dcs-same-prices-as-end-customers/
- Chargalytics: This Week in Charging https://www.chargalytics.com/insights/this-week-in-charging-2026-10-09
- MobilityPortal: ChargeGuru and Zeplug merge under Tohmo https://www.mobilityportal.eu/en/notes/chargeguru-y-zeplug-se-unifican-bajo-tohmo-y-escalan-su-negocio-de-recarga-privada-en-europa
- electrive: E.ON Drive takes over bp pulse in the Netherlands https://www.electrive.com/2026/10/09/e-on-drive-takes-over-bp-pulse-fast-charging-network-in-the-netherlands/
- electrive: Voltix opens France's most powerful truck charging station https://www.electrive.com/2026/10/08/voltix-opens-frances-most-powerful-truck-charging-station/
- electrive: IONITY ad-hoc payments via new terminal https://www.electrive.com/2026/10/07/ionity-process-ad-hoc-payments-via-birdhouse-terminal/
- electrive: EV4EU advances bidirectional charging https://www.electrive.com/2026/10/10/ev4eu-project-advances-bidirectional-charging/
- electrive: France set to follow Germany in softening CO₂ targets https://www.electrive.com/2026/10/07/france-set-to-follow-germany-in-softening-co2-targets/
- evnews.ai: France's 41.6% EV share in September https://evnews.ai/news/la-voiture-electrique-represente-desormais-4-immatriculations-sur-10
- ECOticias: ANFAC electromobility barometer (Spanish) https://www.ecoticias.com/movilidad-electrica/puntos-de-recarga-espana-caida-instalacion-2026

Your week in European EV charging, in under 15 minutes.
Episode Description
Switzerland gets a new largest charging operator overnight as four brands become Joya. Circle K chooses FlexiCharge for load management on ~1,000 charge points — a "headless" deployment that could define how big operators buy energy management. Brussels says CEF and AFIF funding will prioritise electric truck and bus charging, with close to 40,000 e-trucks already registered against roughly 3,000 suitable public charge points. bp exits its third country, Electra switches on Madrid's most powerful urban site, Vattenfall reports a record year in Germany, and Chargalytics finds Norway's school holiday by watching fast chargers.
Plus: policy watch (Auto Package delay, bidirectional charging in Germany, UK cross-pavement charging, Spain's new framework), the week's data corner, and what's on over the next four weeks.
Chapters
0:00 — Cold open: the week in one minute
0:25 — Headline: Circle K goes headless with FlexiCharge
1:26 — Consolidation corner: Joya, bp's third exit, Roadchef
3:01 — Heavy duty: Brussels follows the trucks
5:33 — Power, usage and the grid: Madrid, Geely, Vattenfall
6:47 — Policy watch: EU Auto Package, V2G, UK, Spain
8:31 — On our radar
9:36 — Data corner: Chargalytics finds the holiday
10:30 — Sign-off and events: the next four weeks
Links & Sources (curate to taste)
electrive: Circle K opts for load management from FlexiCharge
electrive: Joya — new Swiss CPO replaces four charging brands
Chargalytics: This Week in Charging (2 Oct 2026)
electrive: EU to increase support for truck charging infrastructure
EV Infrastructure News: Prologis & PragmaCharge eHGV hub goes live
elektroauto-news: Vattenfall record utilisation in Germany
Chargalytics: The anatomy of a vacation — Norway's autumn break
CleanTechnica / T&E: EV driving costs half as much as diesel

The Charge Point Radar — Week of 21–27 September 2026
Produced by FLEXECHARGE

The signals that matter for charge point operators, every week. A two-host European news roundup covering the week of Monday 21 to Sunday 27 September 2026 — grid flexibility, deal flow, the driver experience, truck charging and market demand, pulled from electrive, Chargalytics, MobilityPlaza, Enlit and more.

Chapters
**[00:00] Cold open**
The week in one breath: a motorway service area plugged into the grid on flexible terms, a French utility buying an oil major's fast-charging business, a new map of where Europe's electric trucks will charge — and almost one in three new EU cars now plugging in.

**[00:39] The grid learns to flex**
GRIDSERVE and Extra open a 24-bay Electric Super Hub at Cobham Services on the M25 — 400 kW capable, and connected through a DERMS so UK Power Networks and ESP can raise or lower site power in under a minute. Plus the Siemens study for EIT Urban Mobility, ChargeUp Europe and ACEA: €24.7bn of distribution-grid investment needed by 2030 — falling to €14.1bn with intelligent load management — and why only Germany has all four smart-charging building blocks in place.

**[02:58] Deals and network moves**
Sorégies buys BP Pulse's French fast-charging business (32 operating sites, 600+ charge points, 14 more in development) and goes national under its Alterna énergie brand. In the Netherlands, 43 municipalities award South Holland and Zeeland concessions to TotalEnergies (~60%) and Velian — with price screens, ad-hoc payment and dynamic smart charging written into the tender. EnBW opens its Karlsruhe flagship park with XCharge's new 480 kW C7; Electra opens its most powerful urban station in Madrid (26 points, up to 600 kW).

**[05:58] The driver experience**
Osprey launches Osprey Go with Autocharge across its whole UK network. InstaVolt confirms CHAdeMO stays — at least one connector at every site. From the CharIN Testival: a Mercedes-AMG that wouldn't talk to the charger, ISO 15118-20 adoption accelerating, and why the question for operators is shifting from peak kilowatts to whether the whole chain actually works together.

**[08:03] Trucks, megawatts and corridors**
Fraunhofer ISI and the ICCT map European truck charging demand: ~100 TWh by 2035, ~200 TWh by 2045, with the top 10% of locations carrying 60–90% of demand and grid peaks of 20–50 MW. Germany starts construction at 124 unstaffed service areas, the EU clears up to €1.6bn in state aid, Milence nears 40 charging parks, GRIDSERVE expands its Voltloader eHGV partnership, and Daimler shows the eActros LowLiner with megawatt charging from late 2027.

**[09:48] Market pulse**
ACEA's August numbers: BEVs at 27.7% of new EU registrations (up nearly 63% year on year), plug-in hybrids adding 11.1% — almost 39% of new cars now have a charging port. And E.ON + BYD bundle car, tariff and charging flexibility into one German offer from November, with up to €20/month savings for optimised charging.

**[10:55] Quick hits**
Efacec unveils a charging hub solution with up to 1.6 MW. The UK creates a permitted development right for cross-pavement charging. Changan UK picks Ohme as its home charging partner.

**[11:13] Radar pick — ask about flexible connections**
The one action for CPOs this week: if you're waiting on a firm grid connection for a high-power site, ask your network operator whether a flexible connection is on the table. Cobham shows the route — faster connection, lower upfront cost, in exchange for minute-level load control — and the Siemens numbers suggest load management could avoid over €10bn of grid spend.

**[11:59] Outro**
Coming up: Elbilmessen in Herning (2–4 Oct), E-CHARGE in Bologna (7–9 Oct), and the Paris Motor Show from 12 Oct.

## Sources

- GRIDSERVE × Extra, Cobham Super Hub (22 Sep) — gridserve.com
- Siemens study for EIT Urban Mobility, ChargeUp Europe, ACEA (21 Sep) — enlit.world
- Sorégies acquires BP Pulse France (25 Sep) — electrive.com
- TotalEnergies & Velian, South Holland and Zeeland concessions (21 Sep) — electrive.com
- EnBW Karlsruhe flagship park, XCharge C7 (22 Sep) — electrive.com, mobilityplaza.com
- Electra Carabanchel, Madrid (21 Sep) — mobilityplaza.com
- Osprey Go with Autocharge (21 Sep) — mobilityplaza.com
- InstaVolt retains CHAdeMO (25 Sep) — electrive.com
- CharIN Testival, interoperability (26 Sep) — electrive.com
- Fraunhofer ISI & ICCT truck charging demand (24 Sep) — electrive.com
- German truck network, EU state aid, Daimler eActros LowLiner (wk 21 Sep) — chargalytics.com
- GRIDSERVE × Voltloader eHGV partnership (21 Sep) — electrive.com
- ACEA August registrations (24 Sep) — electrive.com
- E.ON × BYD partnership (26 Sep) — enlit.world
- Efacec 1.6 MW hub (24 Sep) — electrive.com
- UK cross-pavement charging right (24 Sep) — chargalytics.com, renewableenergymagazine.com
- Changan UK selects Ohme (23 Sep) — electrive.com

*The Charge Point Radar is produced by FLEXECHARGE. If a colleague would find this useful, pass it on - and subscribe so next week's episode lands automatically.*