I think the breaks make them better drivers.

Having to stop for a charge along the way is often seen as a drawback. A new survey shows Swedish electric vehicle drivers disagree.

19.10.2026 07:02 | Updated 14:16

When on a long trip in an electric vehicle, it’s common not to go more than one or two stops for charging.

One might assume that as electric vehicles travel farther and charge faster, these stops become shorter and less frequent, but charging breaks remain part of the reality of driving long distances in electric vehicles.

But is it really that negative? On the contrary, according to a large portion of electric vehicle drivers cited in Sweden’s Ziklo’s new mobility report.

More positives than negatives

The report concludes that electric vehicle drivers take longer breaks on long trips compared to those in fossil fuel vehicles, and there’s a greater chance that the driver actually needs a break or two as well, not just the car.

The survey shows that nearly six in ten, 58 percent, say the charging break makes them better drivers when they get back behind the wheel after charging.

The report also shows that many are generally positive about the charging stop:

In total, 42 percent of Swedish electric vehicle drivers view the charging break positively, while 28 percent are negative.

Instead of seeing it merely as a loss of travel time, the charging break is for many an essential part of the journey. Is this something you can relate to?

Ziklo also took a closer look and found out what Swedes do during charging stops:

60 percent go for a walk.

56 percent use the occasion to eat.

55 percent go outside the car.

50 percent have a coffee.

So, you know about electric car lovers...

A threatened species?

Do you need time to grab a snack, check your phone, use the restroom, and move around a stiff body? Does it take half an hour or whatever is needed to fully charge the battery?

But many signs indicate that charging breaks are already at risk of becoming a threatened species.

Earlier this week, for example, we wrote about the BYD Atto 8, which will arrive in Norway next year. It will be the first BYD model in Europe to feature the company’s Flash Charging technology.

The model is supposed to achieve what BYD calls “ready in 5, full in 9, cold add 3.” This means the 115 kW battery should be able to go from 10% to 70% in five minutes and from 10% to 97% in nine minutes.

Earlier this year, we tested how much our own Lade-Lars could accomplish during a charging break when the car it was charging took only 12 minutes to go from 10% to 80% charge.

The car used in the experiment was a Xpeng P7+, which can charge at up to 450 kW. The challenge was to find a charger that could actually charge that fast, but we found one at Rommen in Oslo, which claims a charging speed of up to 480 kW:

The moral of this story might be this:

Take advantage of charging breaks whenever you can. With or without Swedes around.

More like this?

Sign up for our newsletter

– get electric car news straight to your inbox!

Also read

The post Mener ladepausene gjør dem til bedre sjåferer appeared first on Norsk elbilforening.