The electric car stations are not operated by the municipality, but by the company "Move", which offers a Swiss-wide shop network and extends its sensors throughout Europe.

"We have made two parking spaces available to Move,” says Therese Mösching, on behalf of the municipality.

If you own an electric car, you can park it at the charging station, pick up your power cable (type 2) from the luggage compartment, plug it into the charging station and the car, identify yourself with the e-mobility card or the corresponding smartphone app, to start the charging process. Customers are billed directly at their home address, and the charging time is two to three hours (accelerated charging) depending on the level of the battery.

"Gstaad and Saanen were selected because they are on the Grand Tour of Switzerland," explains Stéphane Rosset, Move manager for Gstaad.

The Grand Tour route developed especially for tourists, who are individually, mostly motorized, on the road. Rosset does not believe that many local customers use the public charging stations in the Saanenland, stating that 80 to 90% of electric vehicle customers charge their vehicles at home or at work. For the other 10 to 20%, Move has built a comprehensive network of 320 stations.

"The market is growing at a fast pace and we want to influence development,” says Rosset. “Although the business segment is currently still in deficit, we hope to be profitable within ten years.”

The charging stations come at a cost to Move, which has to pay for regular maintenance. The current electricity charge is billed separately. According to the company, today's electric cars drive approximately 300 km per full battery. When the vehicle is charged at home, the electricity costs around CHF 3/100 km, while Move charges double that—around CHF 6/100 km. The company insists that the massive price hike is still cheaper than a gasoline car, which has an average cost of CHF 9/100 km.