At the current rate of expansion, the European Union will not achieve the target of 1 million charging points by 2025. This is the conclusion of the European Court of Auditors (ECA). Furthermore, the regulator argues that the EU’s infrastructure strategy for EVs is currently inadequate. As a result, there are still many snags that need to be resolved.
According to the ECA, the pace of expansion of the current charging infrastructure is lagging behind the growing market share of EVs in European car sales. The regulator also states that the current charging points are unevenly distributed across the EU, something that the interest group for car manufacturers ACEA has already raised. In the report, the ECA further writes that the European Commission has never had a comprehensive analysis carried out on exactly how many charging points are needed, where they should be built and in which areas the funding is most needed. Neither have clear and concrete goals been attached to this to date.
In addition to the insufficient pace of expansion of the charging infrastructure, the ECA sees that the charging network between Member States is not coordinated with each other. According to the auditors, the user experience is complicated due to different payment systems and there is no centrally available information between the different charging networks about matters such as real-time availability and prices. That is why the ECA recommends the European Commission to draw up a coherent strategy that sets clear goals when it comes to expanding the charging infrastructure. Policymakers must also set requirements for the infrastructure itself to make the user experience easier.
Not an unknown problem
What the ECA is raising is not new in itself. Several interest groups and companies have already stated that the charging infrastructure in Europe is growing too slowly. This applies not only to passenger cars, but also to freight traffic. Even in the Netherlands, which is currently the frontrunner in Europe when it comes to the number of charging points, there may be a shortage. From 1 July this year, it is legally required in our country for charging operators to share real-time information, such as availability and the current charging price, of all publicly accessible charging points. Ultimately, that is more or less what the ECA wants to see at the European level.