I have never owned an EV so not sure even how much a charge costs, that’s even why I asked this… on average of 3 years a car can consume up to $5-6k just in gasoline! So I wanted to know if electricity is anything I should be counting for in terms of costs.
Free DCFC on EA is a nice perk, but as you say, you have never owned an EV. So, you should understand a bit about the realities of charging.
The single most convenient aspect of owning an EV is being able to charge overnight in your garage while you sleep. You arrive home, plug in, sleep, and start your day fully charged. The cost? Whatever you pay for electric utilities, which averages ~$.12/kWh in the US. How much you use depends on how much you drive. At 3 mi/kWh for example, you would use about 33kWh every 100 miles or about $4 in electricity at average home utility rates. So, look at your daily use (miles), your utility rates, and do the math.
Probably something like 95% of US driving mileage is commuting, or around town errands. So people will rely on home charging 95% of the time. The free charging is not included in this.
For times when you want to spread your wings and go somewhere farther than the 100% home charge will take you (~250 miles), you will want to use public charging. The two options are Level 2 (typically 7kW) which is about the same charging speed as at home, or DC Fast Charging (DCFC). To maintain trip pace, DCFC is preferred and ID4 will charge at up to 125kW. Electrify America generally only has DCFC chargers, so that is the only time you will use the Free Charging perk.
Some people may have EA sites near home or work and may rely on this free charging more than others in place of home charging. Is this wise? It depends, if you have no option to charge at home (live in an apartment\condo with no option to charge), you could get by. But, time is an important consideration. Unlike filling a gas tank in 5 minutes, ID4 could take an hour or more to reach 100% state of charge. If you have plenty of free time, or if you can combine this with productive activities, the wait time may be ok.
It can get more nuanced, for instance where I live there are a lot of free Level 2 chargers in public places. Some employers and retail stores offer it. If you live, work, or frequently shop near these, you can charge for free to supplement, or in some cases even replace home charging. But, these charge at relatively slow speeds, needing 8-10 hours to top off a depleted battery pack.
Where you travel also comes into play. As comprehensive as the EA network is, there may be places you want to go where you will need to use other charging networks. ChargePoint (mostly Level 2, but a growing DCFC network), EVGo, Greenlots, etc may have DCFC on your route, and you will tend to pay $.30 - $.50 per kWh (or more) using these networks. Free DCFC is rare in most places, and when you do find free DCFC, it is typically slower (20-50 kW).
So, don't get fooled into thinking all (or even most) of your charging will be free. In 3 years of EV ownership (65K miles), I have used DCFC sparingly. I don't travel long distances often, so most of my charging is at home. I have probably spent less than $150 on DCFC, and only charged twice on free DCFC (both times were 20kW, so not so fast). Not all of that DCFC was on EA, some was ChargePoint. This is probably fairly typical for most drivers, so in effect that Free Charging perk is really a $150 cost to VW and EA for most owners. For those who frequently travel longer distances, it will be far more valuable.
As I near retirement, my use patterns will change. I anticipate several long trips yearly to spend time with SoCal family (1300 miles each way), or DC area family (1700 miles each way). Thrown in some sightseeing tours and my ability to take full advantage of the free EA charging perk could be a windfall.
Now, compared to the Hybrid I drove prior to my EV 3 years ago, the home charging cost is averaging less than 1/3 of the cost of gas I would have bought for a 43MPG hybrid. I know, I have calculated it and confirmed it with utility bills. So, using your $5-6K in gas figure above, that would mean an EV might cost $1600 - $2000. However, this 1/3 cost is not to be assumed. For some, it will be less savings due to higher utility costs. For some, it may be more due to low utility and high gas prices.
