Driving an Electric Car in Iceland

Iceland is one of the most electrified car markets in the world - 41% of new passenger cars registered in 2025 were battery-electric - so the charging network is better than visitors expect, and touring the Ring Road in an EV is straightforward. The things that actually catch people out are narrower: whether your bank card works at the charger, one 164 km stretch with no fast charging, and the fact that several rental companies ban electric cars from F-roads outright.

The Networks, And Which Take A Bank Card

This is the most practical thing on the page. Several guides claim most Icelandic fast chargers accept a card directly. That conflicts with what the operators say about themselves.

Install the apps before you leave a signal. Only Orkan states that ordinary contactless cards, Apple Pay and Google Pay work at the terminal. ON, Ísorka and N1 route payment through an app or key, and the interior is exactly where you will have neither coverage nor patience. Ísorka roaming covers several smaller networks, which makes one app go further than its own site count suggests.

Connectors And Speeds

A car bought anywhere in continental Europe needs no adapter. Charging speed varies enormously by site rather than by network: the same operator may run 600 kW near Reykjavík and 50 kW at a village in the east, so check the site rather than assuming the brand.

The One Real Gap

On Route 1 there is a single stretch that needs planning: Reykjahlíð at Mývatn to Egilsstaðir, 164.5 km by Vegagerðin's own distance table, across Möðrudalsöræfi, with no DC fast charging in between and only 50 kW at the Mývatn end. Orkan lists a 400 kW site at Skjöldólfsstaðir inside that gap as its next opening, and that date has slipped: it read August 2026 when we checked on 6 August and September 2026 when we checked again on 5 September, still listed as forthcoming rather than open. Verify before relying on it.

Everywhere else on the loop is comfortably covered, including the east fjords - Höfn to Djúpivogur is only 103 km with fast chargers at both ends. Away from Route 1, assume less: the Westfjords and the north-east are thinner, and the highlands have nothing at all.

What It Costs

Harder to answer than it should be, because half the market does not publish a price. ON publishes a full tariff table: 69 ISK per kWh for DC fast charging, or 55 on its Vildarkjör loyalty tariff - a rate ON's own footnote describes as a temporary reduction offsetting a government fuel-duty cut, so do not treat it as settled. Orkan publishes a per-station table alongside its fuel prices: 64 ISK per kWh at most of its fast-charging sites, 58 at Hörgárbraut and 49 at Baula and Vesturlandsvegur, and it charges an idle fee after 60 minutes equal to the price of one kWh for every additional minute. Ísorka and N1 publish no public rate at all; their pricing lives inside their apps.

Orkan's own pages disagree with each other. Its charging page names Baula, Hella and Vesturlandsvegur as the three sites carrying its 49 ISK per kWh floor price, while its station price table lists Hella at 64 ISK per kWh and shows the floor at Baula and Vesturlandsvegur only. The FAQ on that same charging page names a different pair again - Vesturlandsvegur and Fitjar - as the sites excluded from its 12 ISK per kWh Orkulykill discount. We report the price table, as the more specific source, and flag the contradiction rather than resolving it.

Winter Range

Cold reduces range, and Icelandic winters add wind and heating load on top. What we cannot give you is an Icelandic number, because no Icelandic body publishes one. The Icelandic motoring association says only that range falls "quite a bit" in the coldest months, and makes the useful point that rated range is measured at 14 to 23 °C - so the figure on the window sticker was never a winter figure.

Two foreign figures, with their conditions attached. A 2025 study of 34 models and more than 30,000 vehicles found EVs retained about 78% of maximum range at 0 °C. Norway's winter test measured roughly 18% loss at -6 to +8 °C, which is the closer match to Icelandic coastal winter; its more dramatic 38% figure came from tests run between -7 and -32 °C, colder than most of Iceland gets. We do not publish a number for the effect of headwinds, which Iceland supplies generously, because no credible source quantifies it separately from cold-weather loss.

Electric Cars And F-Roads

The trap most EV guides miss. Several operators restrict electric and hybrid vehicles from F-roads regardless of drivetrain, and it matters a great deal whether that restriction is in the contract or merely in an advice page - only the former voids your cover.

Worth remembering that the highlands have no charging at all, F-roads are closed through the winter anyway, and the 4×4 requirement itself is contractual rather than statutory. Our rental comparison sets out each operator's terms in full.

Before You Set Off

Install the ON, Ísorka and N1 apps while you still have signal, and register a card in each. Carry a Type 2 cable for hotel and campsite charging, which is where most overnight top-ups happen at 22 kW. Plan the Mývatn to Egilsstaðir leg with a full battery. Expect meaningful winter range loss and treat the rated figure as a summer number. And if there is any chance of a highland detour, read your rental agreement before you book the car, not after.

Related Guides

The Ring Road covers the route itself, including fuel gaps and tolls; winter driving covers what the law requires on tyres and how little daylight you get. For choosing and insuring a car, see renting a car and the operator comparison.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can You Drive Around Iceland In An Electric Car?

Yes, and more comfortably than most visitors expect. Iceland is among the most electrified car markets in the world - 41% of new passenger cars registered in 2025 were battery-electric - so fast charging is widespread on the Ring Road and in towns. The one stretch that needs planning is Reykjahlíð at Mývatn to Egilsstaðir, 164.5 km with no DC fast charging in between and only 50 kW at the Mývatn end. Everywhere else on the loop is comfortably covered.

Can You Pay With A Normal Bank Card At Icelandic Chargers?

At Orkan, yes. Everywhere else, mostly no. Orkan is the only network that states plainly that all major credit and debit cards, Apple Pay and Google Pay work at its fast chargers. ON, Ísorka and N1 all route payment through an app or an RFID key, although ON offers a card checkout in a web page you reach by scanning a QR code on the charger. Several travel guides claim most Icelandic chargers take cards directly, which contradicts what the operators say about themselves. Install the apps before you leave a mobile signal.

What Charging Connector Does Iceland Use?

CCS2 for fast DC charging and Type 2 for slower AC, which matches the European standard, so a car bought in continental Europe needs no adapter. CHAdeMO still exists at around 124 connectors nationally, but every one is 50 kW or slower and nothing faster is being built. If your car is CHAdeMO-only, expect slow stops: Orkan is the one network that commits to keeping a CHAdeMO connector at every site.

How Much Does It Cost To Charge An EV In Iceland?

Two of the four main networks publish prices, and they do not line up. ON publishes a full tariff table: 69 ISK per kWh for DC fast charging, or 55 on its Vildarkjör loyalty tariff, with a footnote calling the rate a temporary reduction offsetting a government fuel-duty cut - so do not treat it as settled. Orkan publishes a per-station table: 64 ISK per kWh at most of its fast-charging sites, 58 at Hörgárbraut and 49 at Baula and Vesturlandsvegur, plus an idle fee after 60 minutes equal to the price of one kWh per minute. Ísorka and N1 publish no public rate at all - their pricing sits inside their apps. Treat any single "cost per kWh in Iceland" figure with suspicion: published rates alone run from 49 to 69 ISK per kWh, and half the market publishes nothing.

How Much Range Do You Lose In Icelandic Winter?

Enough to plan around, but no Icelandic body publishes a figure and we will not invent one. The Icelandic motoring association says only that range falls "quite a bit" in the coldest months, and usefully notes that rated range is measured at 14 to 23 °C. For a number you have to look abroad and carry the conditions with it: a 2025 study of 34 models found EVs retained about 78% of maximum range at 0 °C, and Norway's winter test measured roughly 18% loss at -6 to +8 °C, which is closer to Icelandic coastal conditions than tests run at -30 °C. We do not publish a figure for the effect of Iceland's headwinds, because no credible source quantifies it separately.

Can You Take An Electric Rental Car On An F-Road?

Often not, and whether it is a contract term or merely advice decides whether your cover survives. Lotus bans electric vehicles from all F-roads in its rental agreement, and Northern Lights bans all hybrids in its terms. Hertz says some electric and plug-in hybrid 4×4s are not allowed because of where the battery sits, but that sits on a requirements page rather than in the contract. Höldur, Blue Car Rental and Go Car Rental restrict only by drivetrain contractually and put their EV warnings in advice pages and blog posts. A 4×4 badge on an EV is not sufficient reassurance.

Will My Rental Car Actually Be Electric?

Less often than Iceland's headline figures suggest. While 41% of new passenger cars registered in 2025 were battery-electric, rental companies were the least electric buyers in that same year, taking mostly hybrids and plug-in hybrids rather than pure EVs. If you specifically want a battery-electric car, book a named model rather than a vehicle class, and confirm before you travel.

Sources

Network coverage, payment methods and prices read from ON, Orkan, Ísorka and N1 - prices re-read on 5 September 2026, with Orkan's per-station table at orkan.is/orkustodvar - and connector counts taken from the live station feeds behind ON's and Ísorka's own published maps. The Mývatn to Egilsstaðir distance is from Vegagerðin. Registration shares from Bílgreinasambandið, using Samgöngustofa registry data, and the European Alternative Fuels Observatory. Cold-weather range from FÍB and, for numbers, Recurrent Auto and Norway's NAF winter test, each quoted with its measurement conditions. Rental terms read from each operator's own published terms. Prices, charger locations and rental terms change; confirm before you travel.

Last updated: 2026-09-05 · Reviewed against official sources.