In January 2025, I drove from the UK to Courmayeur in Italy in an electric car. This was my third trip to the Alps in an electric vehicle, after two previous journeys in 2022, to Zermatt and Les 2 Alpes.
The purpose of the trip was to demonstrate how straightforward it is to drive an electric car on a ski holiday, and also to assess how much the charger network has improved since my previous trips.
The Car
I used a BMW iX M60 electric car for this trip. I should clarify that this was kindly lent to me by BMW UK, as it’s a long way out of my price range at £124,000.
What you get for this price is not just an official range of 340 miles (I look at ‘real range’ in more detail later in this blog post), but an extremely high-spec vehicle.
I’m not a ‘car person’, but even I can recognise that 532hp and 0-60mph in 3.8 seconds is extremely impressive.
Also remarkable is the level of design. This SUV is quite blocky to look at, but inside it has every possible level of comfort for driver and passengers alike.
Like most EVs, the central screen is packed full of functionality, including journey planning that takes into account charging stops along the way, and Bluetooth to allow you to play your Spotify playlists through the 30 (yes, thirty!) speakers in the Bowers & Wilkins sound system.
Temperatures were sub-zero for almost all of my journey, so the option to turn on the heated seat and in particular the steering wheel (great for someone with Reynaud’s like me).
The ‘massage’ function, which enables you to select the speed and intensity of a back massage from your driving seat helped me get through the hours of driving when I started to stiffen up.
I was travelling on my own, but the rear boot has huge amounts of storage space, meaning a family of four or five could easily carry all their ski gear without having to squeeze bags in the footwells or on the back shelf, as so often happens on a ski trip.
The most useful feature was ‘Driver Assistant’ mode, which allows you to set your speed and combines this with steering and lane control.
This made the burden of long-distance motorway driving so much easier. You still have to leave a hand on the steering wheel (and change lanes yourself) but the car will essentially do the work for you, braking if necessary and making small adjustments to keep you in your lane.
Charging
The car uses the CCS charger format. If that doesn’t mean anything to you, don’t worry, it’s the standard and means that you can use pretty much any public charger.
During my journey out to Italy and back, I almost exclusively used the Ionity charger network. There were several principal reasons for this:
- They are all ultra rapid chargers, which can deliver up to 350 kW, meaning you can recharge fast
- Their network is extensive, with over 720 charging stations across Europe
- The chargers are reliable (i.e rarely out of order, nor any queuing required)
- I already had the app (having used it on my previous trips) and knew that it works without having to rely on any physical cards
Don’t underestimate that final point. There were many other locations with ultra rapid chargers which I could have used, but I preferred to play the percentages. The last thing you want to be doing when it’s freezing cold, dark, or both, is trying to download a new app and/or input credit card details on your phone.
Brighton–Courmayeur: 700 miles, 15 ½ hours (including 3 charging stops)
It’s important to start this section with a caveat: it’s very rare to get into a car for the first time and then drive 700 miles in one go. Typically, this would be a journey you’d do in a car that you’ve driven for thousands of miles already.
The reason this is particularly relevant is that any EV comes with an official range and a ‘real range’ and it can take time to learn how to produce the best range from your car.
In the case of the BMW, the formal (WLTP) range is 340 miles. However, as with ICE vehicles, the economy is determined by how fast you drive.
The first mistake I made was to be tempted by the 130 km/h speed limit (just over 80 mph) on the French motorways.
Driving too fast was compounded by the sub-zero temperatures, as I also realised that having the heating on was taking another 15-20 miles off my range for each hour of driving.
By lunchtime, mid-way through France, it was evident that my original plan of charging just twice was looking unlikely, as the ‘real range’ of the car was working out at around 280 miles.
The other factor to consider is that it’s rare to ever top up your battery to 100% in an EV. It is of course possible, but it’s better for long term battery performance to go to 90% as a maximum.
It’s also worth remembering that the final 10% of a battery takes much longer to top up than the earlier stages. Think of pumping up a bicycle tyre – it’s much easier at first but requires more effort right at the end.
Journey Facts
Departure Brighton – 06:15
Arrival Courmayeur – 22:45
Total Journey Time – 15 hours 30 minutes *
Total Charging Time – 2 hours **
Charging Locations – Champfleury, Langres and Bonneville
Charging Cost – EUR113
* Includes 90 minutes at Eurotunnel Folkestone (my departure was delayed by 30 minutes)
** I could have made the last charge at Bonneville shorter, but I wanted to make sure that I had enough in the car to get to Courmayeur and back to Bonneville without having to charge again
Chamonix to Brighton: 685 miles, 12 ¾ hours (including 5 charging stops)
The return journey was much simpler for two reasons:
1) I mainly drove at 115 kmh (71 mph) instead of 130 kmh (80 mph) – meaning I could go further per charge
2) I broke up the journey by stopping overnight at Troyes – meaning I could charge at the end of the day, after I’d checked into my hotel room
Journey Facts
Departure Chamonix – 15:00
Arrival Troyes – 20:00
Departure Troyes – 09:30
Arrival Brighton – 16:15
Total Journey Time – 12 hours 45 minutes *
Total Charging Time – 2 hours **
Charging Locations – Bonneville, Jura, Troyes Sud (day 1) + Champfleury & Calais (day 2)
Charging Cost – EUR150
* Includes 60 minutes at Eurotunnel Calais
** The stop at Troyes Sud was at the end of the day at a charger immediately outside of my hotel room, so I have not included this in the charging time
Conclusion
Driving in an EV to a ski resort has never been easier. The charging network is already extensive and continues to grow.
However, it remains a fact that it will take longer than driving an ICE vehicle, allowing you to simply ‘fill and go’ at each stop.
For me, the additional time at each stop wasn’t an issue. My stops varied from 19 minutes to 57 minutes, with an average of 29 minutes. I simply topped up on food and drink while the car was topping up on electricity and caught up with my emails.
Monetary Cost
The cost of a similar journey in an ICE vehicle evidently depends on the price you pay for your diesel and the economy of the car.
Based on the total charging cost of EUR263 (about GBP220), the fuel costs were probably similar to an ICE vehicle. Most rapid chargers cost around $0.60 kWh.
Carbon Cost
While the financial cost may not be significantly different, carbon cost of your trip is massively reduced if you choose to travel in an EV on your ski holiday.
The average carbon density of electricity on the French grid is already very low, relative to the UK, because of the high proportion of power generated by nuclear.
However, Ionity chargers are powered 100% by renewable electricity, which means that there were zero tailpipe emissions for the entire journey and making driving in an electric car to your ski holiday the most environmentally friendly way of travelling.
