According to the Federal Association of the Energy and Water Industry in Germany, the expansion of the charging infrastructure for electric cars is on a record course – but can sales of the vehicles keep up?
According to the Federal Association of the Energy and Water Industry (BDEW), the number of new charging stations in Germany rose more sharply last year than ever before. Accordingly, 32,733 new public charging points were added to the network.
As the association further announced, as of January 1, 2024, there were just over 118,000 public charging stations in the Federal Republic. The charging capacity increased from 3.7 gigawatts to 5.4 gigawatts in January 2024 within a year – an increase of around 45 percent.
“This means that the German charging market exceeds the new European minimum targets for installed charging capacity by twice,” said the BDEW. This over-fulfillment is evident in the consistently low occupancy of the charging stations: According to BDEW, on average across the country, charging stations were only 12.5 percent occupied.
The BDEW sees a need for improvement, particularly on the vehicle side. In order to achieve the goal of 15 million electric cars by 2030, a new boost in new registrations is necessary, said the chairwoman of the BDEW headquarters, Kerstin Andreae. “Above all, we need more car offerings that are affordable for a large number of citizens. Currently, more and more new models in the high-priced segment are coming onto the market, while there is little movement in the cheaper segments.”
Source: Stern
