Austria EV Charging 2026: Smatrics, IONITY, ELLA Network

Austrian EV charging network

About 23,000 public chargers as of February 2026, with growth target of 50,000+ by 2030. Distribution:

Density: highest in Wien metropolitan, Salzburg-Innsbruck corridor, Tyrol valleys. Lower in eastern Burgenland and rural Carinthia/Styria.

Major operators

• Smatrics: largest national network. AC + DC across most provinces.
• EVN: Lower Austria provincial utility. Strong in Niederösterreich.
• ELLA: Tirol Energie, strong in Tyrol valleys.
• Salzburg AG: Salzburg provincial utility.
• Wien Energie: Vienna utility.
• IONITY: 16 ultra-fast (350 kW) hubs on main motorways.
• Tesla Supercharger: ~20 stations, open to non-Tesla CCS.
• Aspern Smart Mobility: Wien-area smart-city.
• Kelag: Carinthia provincial.

Roaming

Austrian operators participate in Hubject, Gireve, Plugsurfing roaming networks. Foreign EV cards usually work with 5-15% roaming surcharge.

Typical Austrian prices

Fast DC chargers

Slow AC

Hotel charging

Many Austrian hotels (especially ski lodges) offer free or low-cost EV charging. Ski-region hotels increasingly require for guests. Confirm before booking.

Routes for foreign visitors

Munich to Wien (460 km)

• Munich → A8 → Walserberg → A1 Wien
• IONITY hubs: Mondsee, Sankt Pölten
• Smatrics: Salzburg, Linz, Wien
• 1-2 charge stops, 30-40 min each

Wien to Salzburg (290 km)

• A1 Westautobahn
• IONITY Mondsee, Sankt Pölten
• Smatrics Salzburg
• 1 charge usually sufficient

Wien to Klagenfurt via A2 (375 km)

• A2 Südautobahn
• Smatrics Graz, Klagenfurt
• 1-2 charge stops

Munich/Salzburg to Italy via Brenner

• Salzburg → A10 Tauern → Villach → Italian border or A12-A13 → Brenner → Italy
• IONITY Tauern hub at Mooserboden area
• Smatrics Innsbruck
• Brenner area: Italian Free To X chargers from there

Wien to Bratislava (60 km)

• A4 Ostautobahn
• Smatrics Schwechat
• Brief, 1 charge often unnecessary

Tyrol ski transport

For winter ski trips with EV: charge at ski-region hotels overnight, supplement at:

• ELLA chargers in Sölden, Ischgl, Mayrhofen
• IONITY hub on A13 Brennerautobahn (Mooserboden)
• Smatrics at major ski-region towns

Foreign EV cards in Austria

Plugsurfing (Germany-based)

Works on most Austrian operators via Hubject roaming. App in German + English + Italian. Card €19.

Chargemap (France-based)

750,000+ points across Europe including Austria. Pass €19.99. App in 12 languages.

NewMotion / Shell Recharge

Pan-European, large network. Works on most Austrian operators.

Octopus Electric Juice (UK)

Increasingly works in Austria. Compare prices.

Tesla Supercharger

Open to non-Tesla EVs (CCS) since 2022 in Austria. ~20 Tesla stations. Often cheaper than IONITY.

Direct bank card

Since EU AFIR (July 2024), all new fast chargers must accept Visa/Mastercard contactless. Many Austrian fast chargers comply.

Connectors

Type 2 (Mennekes)

European AC standard. Always bring your own cable: most Austrian public AC chargers don’t have one.

CCS Combo

DC fast standard. Integrated at the charger.

CHAdeMO

Decreasing. Only for older Nissan Leaf, Toyota Mirai. Some Austrian stations still have it.

Adapters

• CEE 16A → Type 2: for campsites
• Schuko → Type 2: for emergency home-style charging

Mountain region considerations

Winter range loss

Cold reduces battery range 15-25%. For Alpine routes:

• Pre-condition battery before fast charging
• Charge to 80% only (faster charging)
• Plan for 30% buffer in winter

Mountain driving

• Uphill: more consumption
• Downhill: regenerative recovery (sometimes recovers 5-10% of climbing energy)
• Net: similar to flat driving over long distances

Ski region charging

Most ski lodges now have at least 1-2 AC chargers. Some larger resorts have multiple DC chargers. Reserve overnight charging when booking.

EV-specific tips

Apps

• Smatrics app: native Austrian operator
• ABRP (A Better Routeplanner): trip planning with optimal stops
• Chargemap: pan-EU charger finder
• Plugsurfing: pan-EU with card
• Tesla app: for Tesla owners
• BEÖ: Austrian EV association portal

Charging strategy

• Use Smatrics or ELLA in their home regions
• Use IONITY for ultra-fast on main motorways
• Use Tesla Supercharger if non-Tesla CCS-compatible and want lower prices
• Use hotel chargers overnight when possible
• Plan charging stops 1-1.5 h apart on motorways
• Always reserve some battery for finding the charger and the queue

What to bring

• Your home-country EV card (Plugsurfing, Chargemap, etc.)
• Backup payment method (Visa/Mastercard for AFIR-compliant chargers)
• Type 2 cable, 5-7m
• Travel adapters (UK to EU mainly)

Mountain EV-charging coverage

Highway EV infrastructure

Austrian motorway service areas have been fully equipped with fast chargers since 2022. ASFINAG together with the concession operators (BP, Shell, OMV) runs over 700 high-power charging (HPC) stations along the A1, A2, A10, A12, A13 and A22.

Typical equipment per service area:

• 4-8 charging points
• 150 kW or 300 kW HPC
• CCS connector (standard), some also CHAdeMO
• Prices: 0.55 to €0.79 per kWh (depending on provider and ad-hoc tariff)

Larger HPC hubs:

• Enns (A1): 12 charging points, IONITY location
• Kaisermuehlen (A22 Vienna): 8 charging points
• St. Michael (A9 Graz): 6 charging points
• Wolfurt (A14): 6 charging points, near the Swiss border

For foreign drivers: most European charging cards (ADAC, EnBW mobility+, IONITY card, ChargePoint) work at Austrian motorway chargers without surcharge. Roaming costs are typically 5-10 cents per kWh above the home tariff. Ad-hoc payment via credit card is available at all HPC hubs.

Hotels with EV charging

For foreign visitors driving an EV, staying at a hotel with a charging point is the easiest approach: charge overnight to 100 percent, start fresh in the morning.

Where to search:

• Booking.com filter ‘EV charger’: about 1,100 Austrian hotels
• ChargeMap filter ‘Hotel’: over 800 hotels with charging
• Better Route Planner: shows hotels along your planned route with charging infrastructure

Chains with guaranteed charging:

• Best Western Austria: most properties have 22 kW chargers
• Motel One: newer properties have Tesla Destination Chargers and Type 2 sockets
• IBIS Budget and IBIS Styles: 40 percent of locations have chargers

Alpine hotels: many ski resort hotels use charging as a selling point: Grossarl, Zell am See, Kitzbuehel, Ischgl. Usually included in the room rate (overnight free charging).

Practical tip: on arrival at the hotel, plug in your EV directly at the charging point. Some hotels require card reservation, others offer ad-hoc charging. For multi-night stays: charging to 80 percent is usually enough and saves battery wear.

Practical tips for foreign visitors

• Plan trip with ABRP before driving in
• Bring Type 2 cable
• Check rental cars: many Austrian rentals include charging cable
• For Tyrol/Salzburg ski trip: reserve hotel with charger
• Use Smatrics or IONITY native apps for fastest payment
• Pre-condition battery before fast charging in cold
• Charge before climbing Alpine passes (uses extra energy)
• Use AFIR-compliant chargers for direct card payment
• For long trip: split into manageable charging windows
• Tesla Supercharger value: best if your car is CCS-compatible

Resources

• BEÖ (Austrian EV association): beoe.at
• Smatrics: smatrics.com
• ELLA Tirol: ella.at
• EVN: evn.at
• Salzburg AG: salzburg-ag.at
• IONITY: ionity.eu
• ÖAMTC EV info: oeamtc.at/elektroauto