By Christoffer Segerdahl, CCO & Co-founder, pickel
What Happened at EV Chargers During Christmas Week in Sweden?
We compared Christmas week to the week before, and a few patterns stood out. More charging overall, a clear dip on Christmas Eve, and ski resorts saw the biggest surge.
What really happened at EV chargers during Christmas week in Sweden? We compared Christmas week to the week before, and a few clear patterns emerged.
More charging, with a dip on Christmas Eve
Overall, more people charged their EVs during Christmas week, but with a notable dip on Christmas Eve itself. Travel did not stop for the holidays, but even EV drivers took a short break on the 24th before demand surged again through the weekend.
Busy urban sites dominated the rankings
Vattenfall InCharge's taxi site at Stockholm Arlanda was the busiest fast-charging site in Sweden, reaching 72% DC occupancy during Christmas week. The top five sites were dominated by operators serving high-traffic urban locations, with Tesla and InCharge capturing the majority of peak demand.
Ski resorts stole the show
The most striking pattern came from ski resorts, which saw the biggest surge in demand. While cities stayed busy, mountain destinations stole the show. Sites in Salen and Vemdalen recorded the highest week-over-week increases in occupancy, with demand jumping up to 25 percentage points in absolute terms.
The takeaway is clear: holiday travel does not just increase demand, it shifts it geographically. For CPOs and operators, this highlights the importance of seasonal planning, location-specific pricing, and anticipating peak demand beyond urban hubs.
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