Free charging perks pulled for some Mercedes-Benz electric car owners

Owners of select new Mercedes-Benz electric vehicles (EVs) have found themselves without the complimentary Chargefox subscriptions they claim they were promised.

A CarExpert reader who purchased a Mercedes-Benz EQE sedan around six months ago received an email from Chargefox saying owners of the EQE, EQV people mover, and eVito Panel Van have had their complimentary subscription deactivated as of November 1, 2023.

They claim they had been previously assured by their Mercedes-Benz dealer the subscription was included at the time of purchase, however, they are now being billed for using the public EV fast-charging network.

“It has come to our attention that purchasers of some new Mercedes-Benz Electric Vehicles have been provided with a Chargefox charging subscription in error,” said the company in its email.

“Purchasers of Mercedes-Benz EQE, EQV and eVito Panel Van models have incorrectly been provided with charging subscriptions and will have their access to free charging deactivated from the 1st of November 2023.

“You are welcome to continue to use the Chargefox network however all vehicle charging which takes place from the 1st of November will be charged to your registered credit card.”

It’s worth noting the EQE and eVito Panel Van have never been publicly advertised by Mercedes-Benz as receiving a complimentary Chargefox subscription.

For EQV owners on the other hand, a Chargefox spokesperson confirmed some owners were given a five-year Chargefox subscription “in error”, instead of the proper one-year subscription included with the purchase of the electric people mover.

Mercedes-Benz Australia also offers complimentary Chargefox subscriptions on the EQA (three years), EQB (one year), and EQC (five years) SUVs, as well as the EQS flagship liftback (one year).

Beyond Mercedes-Benz, complimentary Chargefox subscriptions of varying lengths are still available on a number of other EVs from different carmakers. These include the Audi Q8 e-tron and e-tron GT, as well as the BMW i7, iX1, iX2, iX3 and i5.

MORE: Everything Mercedes-Benz EQE MORE: Everything Mercedes-Benz EQV MORE: Everything Mercedes-Benz Vito