4,500 km of real-world EV testing, starting and finishing at Eldrive
EUROCHARGE is an extended electric car test organised by the Romanian automotive publication Autocritica. The 2026 edition, EUROCHARGE 2026 by Schaeffler, recorded how today's EVs perform on long journeys in real driving conditions: consumption, range, charging times, charging costs and the charging infrastructure along the route. Eldrive was a charging infrastructure partner of the test.
EUROCHARGE 2026 at a glance
An extended real-world test of electric cars, organised by Autocritica. Every car drives the same route in the same conditions, and its data is recorded at every stop.
More than 4,500 km in 11 days: from Romania over the Transalpina, through Hungary and the Austrian Alps to the Black Forest and the source of the Danube in Germany, and back.
Eight electric models, from the Renault 5 and the Volkswagen ID.Polo to the Porsche Cayenne Electric and the Volvo ES90.
Charging infrastructure partner in Romania. The convoy started and finished at SUPERNOVA Pitești and charged at Eldrive stations in Sebeș and Oradea.
The test in figures
EUROCHARGE 2026 by Schaeffler in numbers, together with the figures for the Eldrive hub where the route started and finished.
Why a long-distance test matters
A range figure on a specification sheet and a charging curve measured in a lab are useful. But drivers who are deciding on an electric car usually ask a simpler question: what happens on a long trip? EUROCHARGE answers it on public roads.
For eleven days the eight cars travelled together on motorways, national roads and mountain passes, in sunshine and in heavy rain. At every stop the team recorded what drivers actually experience:
- Consumption and range. Real-world energy use for every model, over the same distance and in the same conditions.
- Charging times. How long each car needed at each stop, and how well its charging speed held up.
- Charging costs. What the energy for the journey actually cost.
- Charging infrastructure. How dense and how powerful the public charging network is along the route, country by country.
The route took in some of the most demanding roads in Europe: the Transalpina in Romania, the Nockalm Road and the Grossglockner High Alpine Road in Austria, and the Black Forest in Germany, where the cars reached the source of the Danube. It also followed the Bertha Benz Memorial Route, which retraces the first long-distance journey by car, made in 1888.
According to the results published by Autocritica, the Volkswagen ID.Polo recorded the lowest average consumption in the convoy and the Porsche Cayenne Electric the longest range. The full results for each model are on the EUROCHARGE 2026 page.
Where the convoy charged with Eldrive
In Romania the convoy charged at three Eldrive sites on its way to the western border: Pitești, Sebeș and Oradea. Each one is a DC site at a retail park, where a driver can charge during a short stop.
SUPERNOVA Pitești: start and finish
The test began and ended at Eldrive's hub at the SUPERNOVA shopping centre in Pitești, Romania, close to the A1 motorway. The site has 14 charging points from 22 kW to 600 kW, built around a 1 MW shared power system: the first Alpitronic HYC1000 in Eastern Europe, working with a MOON power cabinet. Power is allocated in 62.5 kW steps, so several cars can charge at high power at the same time – which is what a convoy of eight cars needs at the start line.
Sebeș: where the Transalpina meets the A1
Sebeș, in Alba County, is where the Transalpina comes down from the mountains and meets the A1 motorway, the main route from southern Romania towards Hungary and Western Europe. The convoy charged at Eldrive in Sebeș on the first stage of the test, after crossing the Transalpina.
Oradea: the last stop before Hungary
The last Eldrive stop on the way out of Romania was ERA Shopping Park in Oradea, a short drive from the Borș border crossing into Hungary. The whole convoy charged there at the same time, side by side along one row of DC chargers.
The eight cars
The 2026 field covered the market from compact cars to large luxury models. Two plug-in hybrids, a Volkswagen Tiguan and a Volvo XC90, carried the support crew and the photo and video team.
- Audi Q4 Sportback e-tron
- BYD Sealion 7
- Mazda CX-6e
- Mercedes-Benz GLC Electric
- Porsche Cayenne Electric
- Renault 5
- Volkswagen ID.Polo
- Volvo ES90
EUROCHARGE 2026 by Schaeffler
EUROCHARGE is an extended electric car test organised by the Romanian automotive publication Autocritica. The 2026 edition was supported by Schaeffler as title partner, with Eldrive among the partners as charging infrastructure partner. Full results and the reports from each stage are published on autocritica.ro.
Charging for long journeys
Eldrive builds and operates public EV charging in Romania, Bulgaria and Lithuania. If you are planning charging for a site, a fleet or a portfolio, we are happy to talk.
