Europe’s Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (ACEA) says its new report shows despite strong growth, available charging infrastructure for electric vehicles in the EU still falls far below what is needed and remains unevenly distributed across the 26 States.
ACEA has published the second edition of ‘Making the Transition to Zero-Emission Mobility,‘ an annual study, which tracks progress on the availability of the infrastructure and incentives necessary to foster market uptake of alternatively-powered vehicles.
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The new report shows sales of electrically-chargeable cars in the EU increased by 110% during the past three years. During the same period however, the number of charging points grew by just 58% (to fewer than 200,000) – demonstrating investment in infrastructure is not keeping pace with increased sales of electric vehicles.
“This is potentially very dangerous, as we could soon reach a point where growth of electric vehicle uptake stalls if consumers conclude there are simply not enough charging points where they need to travel, or that they have to queue too long for a fast charger,” said ACEA director general, Eric-Mark Huitema.
ACEA’s analysis reveals one in seven charging points in the EU is a fast charger at the moment. Only 28,586 charging points are suitable for fast charging (with a capacity of ≥22kW), while normal points (<22kW) account for the vast majority (171,239). Many of the so-called ‘normal’ charging points included in EU statistics are common-or-garden, low-capacity power sockets, which are not suitable for charging vehicles at an acceptable speed, such as ordinary power outlets in garages.
Another key finding of ACEA’s report is existing infrastructure remains very unevenly distributed throughout the EU. Four countries covering 27% of the region’s total surface area: the Netherlands, Germany, France and the UK, account for more than 75% of all electric charging points.
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By GlobalDataThe country with the most infrastructure, the Netherlands, has more than 1,000 times more charging points than the country with the least infrastructure (Cyprus, with 38 charging points).
ACEA has been calling on the European Commission to fast-track the review of the EU Alternative Fuels Infrastructure Directive as part of its COVID-19 recovery plan, including clear and binding deployment targets for all Member States.
