Electric mobility: the current status of charging points in Europe – Part 2.

It is true that public charging stations, which are legally required to permit contract-free charging, are rapidly appearing everywhere. However, major regional differences and problems remain a key issue throughout Europe. These need to be addressed differently in each country. Signs are already emerging that Europe is heading towards a two-tier society when it comes to electric mobility. The only thing is that this two-tier society will cause significantly more knock-on effects since key economic interests are at stake in all transport-related issues. On the one hand, it is a question of the sheer number of charging stations. The Netherlands has maintained an almost unbeatable lead for a number of years now. In 2020, this rather small country accounted for 30% of all European stations with its 66,600 charge points. With nearly five times the population, Germany managed to offer just under 45,000 stations, placing it third, behind France. Now compare these figures with Poland with a mere 1,700 public charging points or the Czech Republic with 1,200. Not to mention Greece with 275 charging spaces and Bulgaria with 194.

There are also significant disparities in technical infrastructure. Unlike modern fast charging rates, charging speeds below 22 kW, typical of private or outdated installations, often result in waiting times lasting hours. In Eastern European countries, the main barriers are weak demand and the low number of electric vehicles. But even in powerhouse economies like Germany, there is still a lack of charging infrastructure in metropolitan areas. In this context, infrastructure refers to the limited options to build profitable charging stations in cities, where high land prices and scarce parking make things difficult, unlike along motorways. There is yet another problem we haven’t touched on yet: the excessive variety of providers, technologies, and software conditions continues to create issues in operation, accessibility to charging stations, and payment for charging. It is reminiscent of the Gold Rush era when there were literally millions of individual gold miners before operations were consolidated in a practicable number of companies.