Hmmm… I feel the need to give a little more info and a Norwegian perspective (I wish I was able to write this in German):
Number of Supercharger sites (and stalls) in Germany VS Norway:
Germany: 38 sites with a total of 229 stalls
Norway: 22 sites with a total of 152 stalls
Number of model S:
Germany: 1101 as of Feb 2015
Norway: 7558 as of Mar 2015
It is true that Norway lacks roads of Autobahn quality. We do have fairly decent roads from Oslo to Kristiansand, from Oslo to Hamar, and from Oslo to the Swedish border in the direction of Gothenburg.
Apart from these the speed limits are more often 70 and 80 with a few 90 zones here and there, and 50 or 60 whenever passing through small villages. The range IS longer at these speeds.
But still - there are roads that need Superchargers - and more ARE coming. There is now permits in process for Lom (in the mountains in southern Norway - enabling Lillehammer-Ålesund via Geiranger, and Bergen-Trondheim) and another just north of Trondheim on the route towards Sweden via Stjørdal. We still lack superchargers in Lofoten and superchargers to enable the trip to Nordkapp and Finnmark in general, as well as some more in more remote areas in southern Norway as well as one just north of Oslo.
There are less than 5 cars per supercharger stall available in Germany. There are almost 50 cars per supercharger stall in Norway.
To round off - I do want Germany to continue to get more superchargers. Almost all routes from Norway to anywhere in Europe except Denmark, Sweden and Finland, Estonia and Latvia goes via Germany. You will notice the Norwegian vacation season at your superchargers this year!
I’ve been to your beautiful country three times now, mostly in Sogn og Fjordane and Oppland. The pace of EV adoption in Norway is awesome, and I’m looking forward to experience the status in 2016 when we plan our next trip. (Alas, not in a Model S…)
Can you give us some idea of SuC occupancy? Is it often crowded?
It is very seasonal. During the summer months you should expect waiting time at Sunde bru (aka Brokelandsheia) every Friday and Sunday. This will be traffic from Oslo area towards the south coast. Probably same situation at Solli for traffic towards the coast from Fredrikstad to Gothenburg. Also expect the same situation to a higher degree at the beginning of the main vacation weeks (last weekend of June till first weekend of August.
During ski-weekends you might experience waiting at Gol
Last summer I had to wait at Sunde bru. Since then the number of cars have more than doubled. The capacity between Oslo and Kristiansand is still the same, so probably more waiting than last year.
People in general are patient and polite. When arriving at a supercharger site where all stands are busy take a look around to see where others are waiting - if any.
I would also expect waiting at the superchargers in Denmark closest to the ferry harbours (ferries coming to Denmark from Norway) - there will probably be a „race“ among the Norwegians to get from the ferry to the charger before it fills up… Waiting would be correlating to arrival time of the ferries + driving time from ferry to charger.
Apart from the superchargers there are other options too - explore them here: ladestasjoner.no/hurtigladin … ladekartet - in general it is good advice to bring your type-2 cable and your UMC.
BTW: The EV share of the total car sales in March was 23%!
The latest SuperCharger additions makes the North cape adventure much easier. There is still a few challenges ahead:
Setermoen to Nordkapp (North cape),
Lofoten islands,
The coastal road from north of Trondheim towards Lofoten (not the E6 which is also going north on a more inland route).
All of these stretches are without superchargers - thus you will need to use type2/shuko/red/blue. The distance from Setermoen (current northernmost supercharger) to Nordkapp is too far. A future supercharger seems to come at Skibotn (just 515km left to go to Nordkapp from there) - it is listed for 2016… Let’s hope it arrives before and that Alta, Honningsvåg/Nordkapp. Lakselv and Tana will follow. That would give full supercharger coverage for the top of Norway.
WHAT YOU NEED TO BRING:
Bring your type 2 cable (very few places for that in northern Norway - but improving - but useful down south),
Bring adapters (read below to be able to use various red or blue outlets),
Bring patience for Shuko charging (13A),
Bring creativity and enthusiasm for asking the natives for help and access to plugs at garages, harbours, ferries, workshops, kitchens, and at the back of grocery stores (where the rubbish compactor usually is located - and connected to a red or blue plug)
The promised ChaDeMo adapter would help as there are many of ChaDeMo chargers around (almost all in the southern half of Norway). If you got one - find your ChaDeMo chargers here: Hurtigladekartet - they are as you can see very few north of Trondheim (one each in Bodø, Sortland and Tromsø) - a few more are coming. PS: Read the info on each charger at hurtigladekartet in advance. Most (all?) ChaDeMo chargers require a membership type card to activate.
Be aware of various schemes for getting access to the type 2 22kW plugs - some are freely accessible=free use, some requires an SMS to be sent to open the lid, some require an RFID card (some just any card=free use (so bring a rfid card like your ski-pass or access card from work if it is of the rfid kind), others a specific card=some kind of payment scheme), and some require an old fashioned key (usually free). Find type 2 plugs and how to get access to them here: Hurtigladekartet (tick off for type 2 both „hurtig“ and „semihurtig“ - many of these will deliver 22kW or more, but some only 11kW)
There are also many slow-charging options. Usually 10, 13 or 16A. Always Shuko. Usually free. In cities and towns on public parking the „municipal parking key“ might be required to open the lid to get access to the plug. Check with the public parking company - you should be able to get a key for free. At shopping centers, hotels etc… these would be freely accessible.
High power plug options. You might find all of these:
Red 3phase 16A outlet - you need the red adapter for the UMC (Tesla sells these).
Red 3 phase 32A outlet - you need a 32A->16A adapter + the above mentioned red adapter for the UMC.
Blue 3 phase 16A outlet - you need a 16A adapter to connect to the red adapter for the UMC.
Blue 1 phase 16A outlet - you need a 16A adapter to connect to the red adapter for the UMC.
Blue 1 phase 32A outlet - you need the blue adapter for the UMC (Tesla sells these).
Check this page: Adaptersett til Tesla Model S for all kinds of adapters
High power plugs might be found here: garages, workshops, marinas, harbours, at the back of grocery stores, industrial sites, camping grounds, farms. Always ask for permission.
Here is our diary (created to update the family where we are) of our trip from Switzerland to Nordkapp in March 2015 in winter conditions : teslafahrer.wordpress.com/2015/ … bnisreise/ (sorry, only in german), look inside the archive
Norway is really a great country. Similar to Switzerland but larger and much less people
Bergen/Asane was occupied by 6 cars (6 stalls) two of two times I was there. I think you have waiting time there every friday evening.
I have add the most useful fast and normal (22kW Type 2) chargers in Norway to goingelectric.de, many of them with photos. So german drivers can plan there route with the best website.
For Grönn Kontakt and Bilkraft you don’t need a membership card. A norwegian SIM card (Prepaid Netcom card for 99 NOK) is enough for the app. Charging is more expansive than the membership card, but it is easier.
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