The federal government wants to put more electric cars on the road. Public charging stations are already becoming scarce in some places. Figures from the Federal Network Agency and the Federal Motor Transport Authority show how the stock is developing.
Vehicles with electric drives are considered a core element of a more sustainable transport policy. But sales of electric cars in Germany have been progressing slowly – especially since the state cut its funding programs last year. Another The reason for the stagnating interest in electric vehicles could be concerns about insufficient charging options.
Recently, for example, the European car manufacturer association Acea warned of a growing gap between the number of electric cars sold and the number of publicly accessible charging stations. “We are very concerned that the expansion of infrastructure has not kept pace with sales of electric cars in recent years,” said Acea General Director Sigrid de Vries. Between 2017 and 2023, sales grew three times faster than the number of newly installed charging stations.
In Germany, too, the growth in the number of electric cars is many times greater than the number of public charging points, as figures from the Federal Network Agency and the Federal Motor Transport Authority show. The Federal Motor Transport Authority recorded more than 2.3 million registered cars with electric or plug-in hybrid drives in its most recent quarterly report from January. In October 2023, the authority put the number at around 2.2 million. In contrast, there were fewer than 113,000 public charging stations at the same time.
But it is also true: the ratio between the number of vehicles and installed charging points has remained relatively constant for years. There are currently almost 20 vehicles per charging station across Germany. For comparison: In the scenario envisaged by the federal government for 2030, there should be around one million public charging points for every 15 million e-mobiles.
ADAC sees no shortage
But a lower supply rate does not necessarily mean a shortage. “We currently don’t see any fundamental problem with too few charging stations,” said the ADAC when asked by ntv.de. Much more important than the absolute numbers is a needs-based distribution of charging points.
In fact, it is very difficult to quantify how many charging stations will be needed in public spaces in the future. On the one hand, the need for public charging options can quickly decrease due to increasing mileage and improved charging technologies. On the other hand, there are large regional differences. Ultimately, demand depends heavily on how many electric vehicles are on the road in the respective catchment area and how they are used. At “neuralgic points”, such as in metropolitan areas, we can already see that the charging stations reach their capacity limits, especially at peak times, and sometimes waiting times arise, admits the ADAC.
In regions with a high proportion of home ownership, however, electric car owners are less dependent on public charging infrastructure. According to statistics from the Fraunhofer Institute, 60 percent of all car owners already have their own garage. A wallbox for charging the vehicle – for example with solar power – is subsidized by the state and offers a cheap alternative to the charging station.
Political goals set too high?
A public charging infrastructure is needed above all to close gaps in private supplies – and to cover longer distances. Last year, the EU Parliament passed a new law, according to which a public charging station should be available at least every 60 kilometers along European main roads by 2026. The requirement is intended to create pressure to act. After all, the charging network still has large gaps, especially outside the cities.
In general, it is becoming apparent that politicians will fall far short of the goals they have set themselves. For example, in order to achieve the 3.5 million charging points targeted by the EU Commission for 2030, annual expansion would have to be increased almost threefold, the lobby association Acea calculates.
The situation is similar in Germany: there are currently just 114,565 charging points listed in the Federal Network Agency’s charging station register. Of these, 29,456 went into operation last year, and in 2022 there were 24,983 new charging points. Since the beginning of the year, 2,386 more have been added. In order to break the target million mark this decade, the annual expansion would have to be more than 125,000 charging stations.
At the same time, the question arises as to how sensible such a massive expansion would be. After all, interest in electric cars has waned significantly recently – even though manufacturers are waging a real discount battle. The proportion of electric cars in new registrations has fallen significantly since the state-subsidized purchase premiums were abolished.
Even the ADAC is ambivalent about the political expansion goal and would not insist on it. “The number alone says nothing about the regional distribution of charging stations and how the numerical ratio of DC fast charging and AC charging points should be balanced,” says a statement for ntv.de. It is important “that the charging network is quickly expanded, especially along the main routes.” In order to achieve this, the federal government, states and municipalities would have to “pull together” and remove “bureaucratic and political hurdles” that hinder expansion.