ACEA, the European trade association for car manufacturers, is sounding the alarm. A new report from the institution shows that the number of charging points is growing less fast than the number of EVs. According to ACEA, this development could eventually cause the growth of EV sales to stagnate.
According to the report ‘Making the Transition to Zero-Emission Mobility’, there are currently 199,825 charging stations in Europe. Of this number, only 14 percent (28,586 posts) has a charging capacity of 22 kW or more, which enables fast charging. Furthermore, it appears that sales of EVs have grown by 110 percent in the past three years, while the number of charging points increased by only 58 percent in the same period. This is a worrying development, says Eric-Mark Huitema, director of ACEA. “If consumers conclude that there are not enough charging points at their destination or they have to wait too long for a fast charger, EV sales growth can stagnate,” he says. According to Huitema, with the climate goals in mind, it is extremely important to provide the infrastructure with an upgrade.
The distribution of the charging points is also striking. The Netherlands is the best boy in class, because more than 25 percent of the total number of charging points in Europe is located in our country. Germany follows with more than 20 percent. France and England occupy third and fourth places with 15.2 and 14.3 percent of the total respectively. The island of Cyprus is the last resort with only 38 charging points. This means that 75 percent of the charging points in Europe are located in just four countries, which together take up 27 percent of the total surface of Europe. The number of charging points is lagging behind, particularly in Eastern Europe.